A man has spoken of his shock and upset after being told there were no ambulances available for his ill 83-year-old grandfather and had to take him to hospital himself - where he had a cardiac arrest in the A&E carpark. Remarkably, thanks to a nurse's quick-thinking and hard work, the elderly gentleman survived the incident - but remains in hospital receiving medical care.
Steven Parsons, from Monmouth, explained that his grandfather had been struggling to breathe for much of last week and his condition had got progressively worse up to Tuesday, December 27. Concerned for his grandfather's health, Mr Parsons phoned NHS 111 for advice and was advised to take his grandfather to see a GP the following day - but later that very evening he collapsed in the bathroom at his home.
Mr Parsons immediately called 999 and explained the situation and a brief history of his grandfather's ill health, but says he was told an ambulance would not be able to get to them - and that he had to take his grandfather to A&E himself. With no ambulance coming, Mr Parsons drove his grandfather the 40-minute drive from his grandfather's home in Wyesham to The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, he says, keeping him talking and keeping him conscious.
