A Belfast woman was forced to drive her elderly mum to A&E after she was told it would take four hours for an ambulance to arrive following her stroke.
Alison McCurley's mum Carol McMeekin took ill at her Castlereagh home last Wednesday at around 3pm.
After being alerted to the 77-year-old's condition by a neighbour, mum-of-two Alison drove straight to her home and rang 999 at 3.50pm.
"I live about nine miles away from my mum and as soon as I got there, I ran in, took one look at her and knew instantly what it was," Alison, 43, told Belfast Live.
Stroke campaigns have repeatedly highlighted the need to detect a stroke quickly and get the patient immediate care.
But no ambulance was available to get Carol to hospital in time for speedy treatment.
"The 999 operator I spoke to said that whilst she could book an ambulance for her, it would take three to four hours to pick her up and take her to A&E at the Ulster Hospital," Alison added.
"That was despite the fact that my mum's face had fallen on one side and her speech and mobility were all affected by her stroke.
"We all know that the first hour after a stroke is critical and anything could have happened while I was getting her from her home to the hospital.
"I was advised by the operator to take her to hospital myself and when I asked what I should do if she took bad again in my car, the reply was 'ring 999 again and we’ll give you advice'.
"My husband and brother-In-law had to help mum from her home into my car and upon arrival at the Ulster Hospital, I had to get my mum physically into the ED myself.
"My mum is a good size 18 whereas I'm an 8 so you can gauge the difference in weight for me to get her out of the car and safely into a wheelchair because she physically couldn't stand or walk at that point."
When Alison arrived at the hospital, she went on into the reception area and relayed what had happened to her mum just over an hour beforehand.
She said that only for the receptionist's help, she wouldn’t have been able to get her mother physically into the A&E.
"The receptionist brought a chair out to my car. Members of staff were walking around and could quite clearly see me and the receptionist struggle to lift my mum from my car into the chair and up the ramp into A&E," Alison explained.
"That just tipped me over the edge and it just felt like there was no humanity. Even with losing her mobility due to the stroke, it fell to me and the receptionist to help my mum."
Last week, the Ulster Hospital said its emergency department was experiencing an increase in the number of patients being admitted with Covid-19.
The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust also issued a number of urgent appeals for nursing staff to help in its Emergency Departments in the Ulster and Lagan Valley Hospitals and also in medical wards in either hospital.
"I've seen the pressure that the hospital staff are facing first hand and it's unbelievable," Alison added.
Her mum is now being very well cared for on the stroke ward but Alison said the pressures in the health service need to be urgently addressed.
"Mum's speech is not where it was before, her face is still falling and she has no use of her right arm. She is having speech therapy and will need physical therapy down the line but I certainly can't fault how she is being looked after by the staff.
"But if I hadn't been confident enough to drive mum to the hospital myself and instead waited three or four hours for an ambulance, it could have been a very different outcome and she could have deteriorated faster.
"The ambulance might have taken longer so there could have been a big delay in getting mum the urgent help she needed. Whoever is holding the button of control needs to get this sorted," Alison added.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service ( NIAS ) said: "The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service would once again take this opportunity to apologise to any patient or carer who feels that they have not received the standard of service which they would have expected.
"NIAS has previously explained on a number of occasions the challenges that the Service has been facing and which it will continue to face going forward. Many of these challenges are reflective of the greater pressures that are being felt across the entire Health and Social Care System.
"The pressures, as they relate to NIAS, include the number of staff who are absent from work as a result of the requirement for them to isolate due to having displayed symptoms of Covid, having contracted Covid or have been a close contact of someone with Covid. The revised guidance from the Chief Medical Officer has improved the situation in enabling staff to return to work but the numbers of staff unavailable continue to have an impact.
"The other major pressure on NIAS remains delayed turnaround times at Emergency Departments which directly impacts upon our ability to respond to calls waiting in the community as NIAS crews end up having to continue to care for their patients in the back of an ambulance for considerable periods even after arriving at hospital.
"NIAS continues to work with our partners in HSC to address this issue but we are concerned at the risk that this poses to patients in the community who require a 999 response which may well be delayed due to these lengthy handovers.
"NIAS will prioritise calls to the Service based on clinical need with greatest priority given to those patients whose conditions are immediately life threatening and who may not be conscious or who may not be breathing. At times of extreme pressure we will advise callers that some calls may have to wait much longer than we would like or that they would expect.
"On occasion we may ask the caller, where it is deemed clinically appropriate, if it is possible for the patient to be brought to hospital by means other than by ambulance. If this is possible, the caller is always advised to phone back should the patient’s condition change. If it is not possible to provide other transport the call will be responded to by ambulance, based on clinical need and ambulance availability.
"NIAS understands that this patient’s carer has some concerns about the situation on arrival at the hospital. It is not possible for us to comment on this based on the information provided except to say that NIAS staff at EDs regularly assist patients and carers who appear to need assistance."
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