A dad who suffered cardiac arrest after wating nine hours for an ambulance has urged others to get a taxi - rather than suffer waiting times during the NHS crisis. Darrel Wilson, 54, called an ambulance at 10:20 pm on October 8 after experiencing chest pains at home - which didn't arrive until 07:46am the next morning.
By the time paramedics were finally at his front door, Debbie Wilson, 57, Darrel's wife had been forced to drive him herself 81 minutes earlier. Darrel arrived at hospital in extreme pain, and suffered cardiac arrest shortly after - which he believes wouldn't have happened had the ambulance arrived on time.
Now he says he's lost complete faith in the system, and would urge others who fear for their lives to 'get a taxi' rather than risk the current paramedic waiting times. Darrel said: "The phone operator just kept telling us, the next ambulance in the area will be coming to you - but it never did.
