His family called for an ambulance at 7.30pm but it didn’t arrive until late the following morning
An elderly man who suffered multiple injuries following a fall at his home in Cornwall had to wait so long for an ambulance that his family were forced to construct a makeshift shelter for him out of a goal post, umbrellas and other garden objects.
87-year-old great grandfather David who lives on St Columb Road, Cornwall, fell at home on Monday August 15 and suffered damage to his pelvis and arm, alongside a number of broken ribs. Stuck in his garden, his daughter Karen called the ambulance at around 7.30pm that night and yet no help arrived until 11.30am on Tuesday the following morning.
When it began to rain, his family were forced to build a shelter to shield the elderly individual from the elements while he waited a whopping 15 hours for medical assistance to arrive.
According to reports, the shelter was made from a number of household and garden objects, including a football goal post, an umbrella and tarpaulin.
Karen, together with the grandfather’s son-in-law Trevor, reportedly called 999 a number of times and were assured that help was on the way and would be arriving “soon.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and with authorities instructing the duo to keep David still through fear of making his injuries worse, Karen and David were forced to build him some protection from the elements.
After Tweeting a picture of their ordeal, Trevor later explained: ”He was walking to the garage when he tripped and fell over. That was 7.30pm on Monday.
”We dialled 999 but an ambulance didn’t arrive for over 15 hours.
”We kept ringing and they would say we will be with you soon. My wife was a nervous wreck.
”They kept telling us not to move him so we borrowed a football goal from next door and used a tarpaulin. It was traumatizing.”
This news comes amid numerous reports of long waits for ambulances in the Cornwall area. Meanwhile, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust have been approached for comment but are yet to release a statement.
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