A pensioner was left "screaming in pain" for six hours after the ambulance service classed her as "less urgent".
Jeanette Smith was left for six hours in "agonising pain" after she dislocated her new hip replacement. The 78-year-old, from Formby, told the ECHO she had "never known pain like it" - and had to endure six hours before an ambulance finally arrived.
Jeanette said she had been doing "exceedingly well" since her hip operation and was hoping to soon return to the gym. But the former journalist and lecturer said she was left lying on the floor of her bedroom after her hip dislocated while she was putting on her shoes on Tuesday, October 25.
READ MORE: 'Carnage' at Royal Liverpool Hospital as people treated in ambulances 'queuing for hours'
She was alone when the accident happened but her husband soon returned home. When it was clear she could not be taken in the car to the hospital her husband called for an ambulance. But despite the agonising pain and clear distress she was in, an ambulance had still not arrived hours later.
It emerged following multiple phone calls that North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) had classed Jeanette as a category four patient. The category four classification is "for people with less urgent conditions", according to the NWAS website.
The classification means advice can often be given over the phone. And if an ambulance is needed it will aim to get to a patient within three hours.
An ambulance finally arrived after six hours. Jeanette told the ECHO : "When my husband called to ask where the ambulance was the person on the other end of the phone said 'I can hear your wife screaming'. When the paramedics came they told me they had never given someone so much morphine which I think shows the seriousness of it all. I shouldn't have been left on the floor for so long."
Jeanette hoped to be taken straight to Wigan Hospital so she could be operated on by her specialist. But when this was not an option she was taken to Aintree Hospital. When she arrived at Aintree she spent four hours in a crowded corridor before she was eventually fast-tracked to A&E and then on to theatre. She also learnt she had suffered a silent heart attack.
The 78-year-old told the ECHO : "The care I had from the paramedics when they came and from everyone at Aintree was amazing. They were all very caring and reassuring. But the healthcare system is broken - all the staff are working under incredibly hard conditions."
The ECHO reported last week about severe delays for emergency patients at Aintree and The Royal Liverpool - two hospitals run by Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The ECHO reported queues of ambulances and delays of hours because of the lack of beds in the hospitals.
Dr Jim Gardner, chief medical officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is widely recognised that Accident and Emergency departments are faced with significant pressures and we are taking the necessary action to maintain the safety, care and dignity of patients in our hospitals, which is our overriding priority.
“I would like to thank patients and their families for their understanding at this time. I also want to thank all our colleagues for their commitment to delivering care for all the people who arrive at our hospitals and for their exceptionally hard work on behalf of our patients. We continue to work collaboratively with our partner organisations in health and social care, such as North West Ambulance Service, to manage the pressures on our services."
Jeanette made a formal complaint to NWAS questioning why she was classed as a category four patient. A spokesperson for NWAS told the ECHO the service would not comment "until a full investigation" into the formal complaint had taken place.
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