Probe into ambulance ordeal
Maxwell Kusi Obodum • Published 4 Aug 2012 12:00
3 Comments
A TOP level inquiry was launched this week after an injured teenage motorcyclist was left lying in the rain for 90 minutes because there was no ambulance to take him the two miles to hospital.
Jesse Cox, 16, suffered leg, neck and back injuries when his Yamaha bike was in collision with a Peugeot 407 at 11.44pm on Monday at the Tilehurst Road-Cranbury Road junction, west Reading, but with anxious bystanders providing umbrellas to give him shelter, it was 1.28am before an ambulance arrived - from Oxford.
Yesterday (Wednesday) Ngozi Fakeye, from South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) said stressed crews were dealing with other Reading calls, including two other road crashes, and added: "We are sorry for the delay. All available resources were committed at other medical emergencies and we sent a crew once one became available."
A single paramedic arrived in a rapid response car soon after the police, but after easing Jesse onto a spinal board because of a suspected serious back injury, he could not move him without back-up from a double-manned ambulance.
Colin Howlett, 63, who lives in Tilehurst Road and loaned his umbrella, said: "We were flabbergasted. Motorcyclists are the most vulnerable people in accidents like that. It could have been a lot worse."
His wife Liz, 62, said: "Imagine if it was your child lying by the side of the road for 90 minutes. What on earth has happened to the ambulance service? It is absolutely beyond belief."
The former Highdown School pupil was discharged from the Royal Berkshire Hospital on Tuesday morning.
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 03 Aug 12
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reflect
1 post
Aug 4, 12:53
Report commentNo doubt crews occupied with the usual heap of ungrateful drunks too.
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Howard Thomas
Unregistered User
Aug 4, 13:54
Report commentThe early response paramedic will have ticked the 'attendance within a given time' box and the ambulance will follow on when it can, because thats how it works. This incident seems to show that the ambulance service is under resourced for the job that it has to do. Lets just hope that this young man makes a full recovery asap.
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exfireman
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Aug 5, 11:04
Report commentperhaps if the general public didn't abuse the ambulance service and treat them like a free taxi service they would be available for genuine emergencies. The vast majority of patients they attend do not require an ambulance, therefore taking resources away from people who genuinly do need them.
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