| There was no fault on the part of the ambulance crew who were allowed to stay in the station in Dundee to finish their lunch before attending the call.
The call taker has now left the ambulance service.
These are the key findings announced today from an investigation into the case of Mrs Jessie Swadel, who fell outside her home in Fleming Gardens North, on November 7.
An ambulance was summoned immediately by Mrs Swadel’s partner. She had previously undergone two hip replacements and suffered two heart attacks.
Despite her pain, she had to wait an hour before the vehicle came to take her to Ninewells Hospital where her injury was diagnosed as a fractured thigh bone.
Mrs Swadel’s son David made a formal complaint about the handling of the ambulance call. He questioned the ability of centralised ambulance control centres where calls are prioritised.
It was later revealed that the Dundee ambulance crew had been prepared to attend the incident as soon as the message was received from Edinburgh, but were told to take their lunch break as the call was not assessed as requiring immediate attention.
They were said to be very unhappy to discover the actual circumstances after they finished lunch and went to the address.
The Scottish Ambulance Service agreed to investigate the complaint, and the findings were conveyed to Mrs Swadel’s son in a letter.
Today a spokesman for the service said, “We have clear procedures to deal with calls which, although may not concern a life-threatening situation, still require a prompt response.
“These are cases where the person has a medical condition, is elderly or infirm. On this occasion the procedures were not followed by the call taker at the Emergency Medical Despatch Centre in Edinburgh, which deals with calls from Dundee and Tayside. The ambulance crew have been exonerated.”
Asked if any action was being taken against the call taker, he said, “That person is no longer with the service.” He would not discuss the details.
Asked if there would be any review of the procedures, the spokesman said, “No. The procedures are appropriate, but in this case were not followed.”
Today Mr Swadel said, “The ambulance service’s letter did say they were sorry for the distress they caused my mother and they hoped she was recovering.
“I am disappointed that they made no public apology to her. She is home from hospital now, but is still in a lot of discomfort and on crutches. There is still a lot of swelling in her leg and it will be some time before she is able to go outside.” |
