The pensioner who waited 11 hours for the ambulance died 2 days later –

The pensioner, who had to wait for an ambulance for 11 hours after he fell at home, announced that his distraught son died two days later.

Jacqueline Hulbert, 78, fell into her bedroom at 2 a.m. on 10 July in Barwell, Leicestershire, and was left on the floor to rush to the toilet.

His 42-year-old son, Mathew, came home about three hours later, but was unable to move him because he was in so much pain. The neighborhood council member called 999 several times but was told the ambulance service was too busy.

Finally, at 4 pm, an ambulance arrived and was followed about half an hour later, taking him directly to the George Elliot Hospital in Nuneaton.

Jackie, as her friends know, died two days later of sepsis, caused by a urinary tract infection that was not thought to be related to the fall.

Hulbert described the “humiliation, fear and disappointment” his mother experienced as she lay in agony on the floor as “traumatic”.

The case is a striking example of the NHS ambulance crisis, where heart attack and stroke patients were told to wait several hours before being admitted.

Mr. Hulbert said his mother’s “humiliation, fear and disappointment” while waiting on the floor was “traumatic”.

Heart attack patients averaged more than 50 minutes for an ambulance in England last month, almost three times the NHS target. There were over 300,000 category two reports in June

NHS England said in June that around 22,034 people in England had to wait more than 12 hours in emergency rooms after deciding to admit they had actually been hospitalized. The figure rose from 19,053 the previous month, but is still below the April record of 24,138, the highest of all calendar months recorded in August 2010. 122,768 in the previous month. Overall, 72% of UK patients were admitted to the emergency room within four hours last month, up from 73% in May.

Unable to drive, Mr. Hulbert was woken up by the phone at 4:30 am and asked a friend to drive him to his mother’s house.

He fell on the way to the toilet and called for help by putting the lifeline provided by the municipality around his neck.

Mr. Hulbert said: “I was the first to contact the council and they tried to call me for a while, but I was asleep.

“When I woke up I had to call a friend for the 15-minute ride.”

Mrs. Hulbert was suffering from chest pain and her son and friend did not want to risk carrying it.

She added: “My mother’s humiliation on the bedroom floor for 11 hours – not being able to go to the bathroom but desperately going.

“I couldn’t help but make 999 calls all the time.

“He kept asking where they were, but I couldn’t help but call 999 to try and comfort him.

“I will remember those 11 hours for the rest of my days because it was horrible.”

Recalling her mother’s ordeal, Hulbert added: “When the first paramedics arrived, they couldn’t have been nicer or more compassionate to my mother.

“I understand that they are not individuals and reach people as quickly as possible.”

Ms. Hulbert was taken to the George Elliot Hospital in Nuneaton, where she died of sepsis on Tuesday, 12 July.

The condition occurs when the body responds to an infection – in this case, a UTI – by attacking its own organs and tissues.

About 44,000 people die from sepsis each year in the UK, and around 270,000 in the US.

East Midlands Ambulance Service expressed its condolences to his family.

Charlotte Walker, Operations Manager for Leicestershire, said: “We are very sorry we were not able to reach the patient earlier and we recognize the inconvenience this will cause him and his family.

‘Patient care and safety is always our priority.

“Unfortunately, we continue to experience an ongoing level of serious and life-threatening emergency calls, and we are constantly working to prioritize the most severely and most seriously injured patients.

“We want to talk to the patient’s family and have them contact us as soon as possible.”