Pensioner who broke hip told by 999 she was ‘not a priority’

A 95-year-old woman who broke her hip was told she “was not a priority” during a five-hour wait for an ambulance, it has been claimed.

Winifred Soanes was left with a broken hip after she fell over while out with her 92-year-old husband Andrew on Monday.

The pair had been out on Christchurch High Street, Dorset, when the fall happened around 2:30pm, leaving Mrs Soanes unable to move due to the pain she was in.

Despite multiple concerned members of the public making repeated 999 calls for an ambulance and explaining Mrs Soanes was elderly and vulnerable, they were allegedly told she “was not a priority”.

Staff at nearby businesses offered the couple sleeping bags, blankets and pillows to help keep them warm due to the freezing temperatures outside at the time.

Others provided coffee and food to help Mr Soanes, an army veteran and diabetic, who refused to leave his wife’s side.

Despite repeated calls to chase the ambulance, they were given no time frame for how long the wait would be.

An ambulance eventually arrived at 7.45pm and took Mrs Soanes to hospital.

‘Shouldn’t be happening in this day and age’

However, Mr Soanes said he is now too unwell to visit his wife in hospital due to a chest infection he developed after the five-hour wait outside.

Locals who stopped to help the couple criticised the system as “broken” following the incident.

Jennifer Baylis, who was working in a charity shop, said: “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said “I’m going to die here tonight”.

“She was in a phenomenal amount of pain and in such a vulnerable position, on a cold floor, totally reliant on complete strangers.”

A situation like this “shouldn’t be happening in this day and age”, Ms Baylis added.

“The NHS is fantastic once help is there. We know how hard they work. But something went very very wrong to leave a 95-year-old lady on the pavement of a high street at night.”

David Lovell, who saw her fall and was the first to call for an ambulance, said: “I can’t describe how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped really quickly.

“She was lying on the cold pavement and we couldn’t move her because she was in huge amounts of pain.”

‘The situation was dire’

Mrs Soanes was eventually taken to Poole Hospital and is waiting for a specialist operation for her injuries.

Her husband said: “The situation was dire, but it’s great to know that when they need to, the community all pull together to help.”

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service, said: “We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable.

“Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges. To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15-minute national target.

“We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.”

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