Pensioner with dementia waited five hours for ambulance after fall

Bob Messenger fell whilst walking through the car park at St John's Priory in Lechlade on February 4.

Passersby and first aiders were unable to move the 78-year-old, who was in extreme pain, into his daughter's house nearby, so they called an ambulance.

But it took four and a half hours for the ambulance to arrive, and Bob's daughter Lindsey has been left angry with the ordeal.

"After a couple of hours out in the cold, we thought we had got to call again because he was getting worse. So we phoned 999 for the second time," explained Lindsey.

“The call responder said they were going to up the urgency and she wasn’t aware of the previous call.

“At that time my Dad was in severe pain and was getting colder and colder. It was getting dark and he was outside wrapped in blankets and duvets and with hot water bottles just to try and keep him warm."

Bob Messenger had been walking with his wife Sandie on the way to visit their daughter in Lechlade when he fell. (Image: Lindsey Stevens)

In total, Lindsey's family called the ambulance three times. The first call was made at 12.55pm and the ambulance service finally arrived at the scene at 5.28pm.

“When the ambulance staff arrived almost five hours later they were really shocked that we had waited for that long.

"We said something about 'oh you must have been really busy today' and they seemed puzzled," added Lindsey.

Bob was taken for hip surgery at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where he now remains.

Bob had been visiting his daughter in Lechlade at the time of the fall, which left him outside in the cold and in pain for five hours. (Image: Getty)

His daughters say that he is making good progress and able to walk short trips using a Zimmer frame, but the whole experience has been damaging for the elderly man, who suffers with dementia.

“The ambulance staff were wonderful and I can’t fault them, but something has clearly gone very wrong for an old man with dementia to be left out in the cold in agony for five hours," said Lindsey.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service said: “We are sorry that we were unable to provide a timely response to Mr Messenger. 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 our single biggest challenge. 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.

“Health and social care services are under enormous pressure. We are working with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.”