Woman in her 70's left in pain for over three hours waiting for an ambulance in Waterford
The woman waited over three hours for an ambulance. Photo: iStock
Ambulance waiting times in Waterford were criticised at a recent council meeting.
Sinn Féin councillor Joeanne Bailey asked Mayor Séamus Ryan to write a letter to the Minister of Health (Jennifer Carroll MacNeill) about the waiting times for ambulances across Waterford city and county.
She said: “I would like you to inform the minister of our concerns and ask her to look into the number of ambulances for Waterford and request some information about the service.”
She asked for the letter to include an inquiry into the current waiting times in Waterford.
Cllr Bailey told the council how she was contacted by a woman who was calling about how her mother, who is in her 70s, waited in agony for an ambulance to arrive. She was “really distressed about what happened to her”.
Cllr Bailey explained: “She fell in her back garden at 9.30 pm, she broke her hip, she waited three and a half hours for the ambulance to arrive. She said she rang so many times and she was in so much pain.”
In the end, the fire service ended up helping the woman.
“She said the fire service were amazing but she will never forget her mother’s cries of pain in the garden for three and a half hours,” Cllr Bailey said: “Mayor, I don’t think three and a half hours is good enough.”
She said “any help in relation to this issue would be appreciated”. Mayor Ryan assured Councillor Bailey that he would write the letter.
