Calling for an ambulance in an emergency

Report - 24 January 2023

Calling for an ambulance in an emergency was highlighted as a pressing issue in May 2022 when Healthwatch Shropshire was asked to put out a call for people’s experiences.

Calling for an ambulance in an emergency was highlighted as a pressing issue for residents in Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin in May 2022 when the Director of Public Health for Shropshire asked Healthwatch Shropshire to put out a call for people’s experiences of calling 999. It was already understood that long waiting times were a significant issue, but the Director of Public Health wanted Healthwatch to help draw attention to people’s individual voices and experiences, and the real-life impacts these waiting times were having.

The Director of Public Health in Telford & Wrekin also asked Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin to also ask their residents to share their experiences.

This report categorises these experiences, highlighting how people felt at the time, what happened and how things could be improved. It also includes responses from local health and care organisations outlining the work that is being carried out to address the problems.

Key Findings

Quality of Staff

Whilst we heard a lot of difficult experiences, we found that the people who described their interaction with staff found them to be excellent.

Waiting Times

From the individuals who reported a negative experience of calling for an ambulance, 94% attributed their concerns to long waiting times, 55% reported waiting over 6 hours for an ambulance to arrive.

A lot of people felt this had very serious consequences, particularly in causing indignity and long periods of discomfort, or in creating avoidable harm, and sometimes death.

Call Categorisation

A few people felt that the ambulance delays were due to their calls being incorrectly categorised, and the urgency of their situation not being recognised. However, some people reported being well supported by call handlers whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Alternative Travel Arrangements

Due to long waiting times, 17% of people were either advised to use their own transport, or they decided to do so themselves, reporting feeling like it was the last resort.

Falls

We heard from 38 individuals who called the Ambulance regarding a fall. Whilst many people explained nobody was seriously injured, 42% reported they had waited over 6 hours on the floor.

We also heard from two social care agencies who felt that there needed to be more communication between themselves and the ambulance services, as agencies are limited in what help they can provide after someone falls.

Emergency Department

Once arriving at the hospital, 75% of 74 people told us about a negative experience in (or waiting outside) the emergency unit with 58% attributing this to waiting a long time to be seen by a doctor. However, people reporting on care during this time praised the staff who were with them.

Discharge from Hospital

Delays in emergency services are often considered to be a knock-on effect of problems with discharging patients. From the 18 people who told us about the discharge process, 16 voiced negative experiences. People described delayed discharges or being discharged from the hospital without the adequate support and facilities in place for their recovery period.

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