No Ambulances Available: My Dad's Fight Against the unknown. He is not out of the woods yet

Then, the unimaginable happened, no ambulances were available.

As I write this my dad is still in a critical condition. When my dad fell seriously ill, we knew time was critical. But when he suffered what we assumed was just him feeling unwell and showing signs of a heart attack, we entered a nightmare, one where emergency help simply wasn’t available. It felt like we didn't matter, that somehow the blue lights needed were just not there. A phone call from my mum was one of sheer panic. She told me that she needed help and that there were no ambulances. I got to my parents house where my dad was slumped in the chair, breathing erratically and clutching his chest. I phoned 999 and was supported by someone on the phone, asking lots of questions. But the same comment, we have no ambulances and you could be waiting up to 2-4 hours for one to get to you..... We were told to expect a long wait. Resources were stretched, emergency services were overwhelmed, and we were left in limbo. As minutes turned into what seemed like hours, my dad’s condition worsened. Then, suddenly, he clutched his chest in pain, I feared he was having a heart attack.

Desperate, we called again, only to hear the same response: No ambulances were available.

It started with symptoms that didn’t seem too alarming at first, fatigue, fever, confusion, a sore throat, his breathing was a little lapse but my dad never goes to the Drs so asking for an ambulance we knew something was wrong. Knowing at this time that the ambulance wasn't coming and the apologies that the 999 handler was stating made us realise that we needed to get him to the hospital. He was able to stand but quickly his breathing took hold and we needed to support him to the car. We knew at this point my dad was not in a great condition. But within minutes, my dad’s condition deteriorated. His skin turned clammy, his breathing became laboured, and we knew something was seriously wrong. With no time to spare, we had no choice but to get him to the hospital ourselves. We supported him to the car and rushed him to the Accident and Emergency. Every red light felt like an eternity, every second ticking away as his breathing became more erratic. By the time we arrived, he was barely breathing but he had the last push and made it to the door of the Accident and Emergency.

The doctors and nurses acted fast, well as fast as can be. I had to register my dad into the reception and no one even came to see if he was ok. He was slumped on the chair, the nurse who was triaging showed no empathy or even reassured that he is in the right place, he didn't even acknowledge us. It was the security guard that could see how bad my dad was. He was called after around 10 minutes into a triage room where a nurse starting to assess my dad's needs. She started to stabilise him and had given him oxygen. Straight away colour had come back to my dad's face and he was able to speak again. During this time we couldn't be with him as there was just no space. My elderly mother clung onto his coat, she could see he was not well. At the time there was a lockdown happening at the hospital. No one was able to go in and no one was leaving. We were kicked out of the waiting area in the main hospital as this closes at 10pm. There was nowhere else to sit, so we had to go and sit in the car. I will come back to this in a moment. The nurse had allowed my mum to come out and see us, she had said that we should go home and come back in the morning as my dad will be moving to Paediatrics where he will have a side room. We received a phone call at 2:30am that he had been resuscitated twice, had a heart attack and we needed to be there straight away. When we arrived it had been confirmed what we feared, sepsis had ravaged his body, and the heart attack had compounded the crisis. Questions continue to come to me, But what if we hadn’t been able to drive him? What if we had waited for an ambulance that never arrived?

My dad is still in an intensive care unit today. The nursing staff and Drs are amazing that are looking after him. Every day we are hoping that he wakes up and gets better. To now, day 6 he hasn't made any major improvement. But he does look like a little colour is coming back to him. He is not a well man. However, he needed that oxygen quickly. I do feel that the hour wasted and not being able to get an ambulance could have made a huge difference. All we have know is the amazing team in the ICU and prayers and hope. Our hearts are breaking.

This isn’t just about my dad. Across the country, families are facing similar nightmares, we heard them in the A&E department, calling for emergency services that are stretched beyond capacity. Paramedics are overworked, hospitals are under resourced, and people who are in critical conditions are being left in limbo. My dad is not out the woods yet, but the system failed him, but the life saving ambulance service failed him. What happens to those who don’t have access to a car? What happens to those who live in remote areas? This is a crisis that demands urgent attention and I don't blame the ambulance service, I am afraid this is on the government.

We need better funding for emergency services. We need more paramedics, more ambulances, and a system that doesn’t leave families helpless when every second counts. No one should ever have to make the choice between waiting for help that may not come or risking a loved one’s life on a frantic drive to the hospital. My dad is still recovering, but this experience will leave a lasting impact on our family. We’re grateful for what the nurses and Drs are doing now, but we’re also angry, angry that a system designed to save lives is being pushed to its breaking point.

This isn’t just our story. It’s a warning. If we don’t act now, more lives will be put at risk.

If you or a loved one have faced a similar situation, speak out. Change won’t happen unless we demand it. Both the hospital and the staff in the A&E need to show some empathy to those patients and relatives going through a crisis. To not have a seating area, or to even not have the triage nurse in the waiting room let us know that he will be seen is not ok. There are positive and kind people too on this journey. The security guard did more that night than anyone else at the time. He gave me a hand on my arm, reassuring me and trying to support the help that my dad desperately needed. The nurses caring for my dad as we speak and the amazing hospital that has and showed us kindness from the ICU department thank you, you mean so much to us at this moment of need.

Wes Streeting I want you to focus on the life saving care needed at this moment in time. That is what I want you to be speaking about on Sunday Morning tv and I wish for a better service of life saving treatment.

I pray for my dad that he does wake up and we have more days to share with him. At the moment we are just waiting and hope is all we have.