My mum's 40-hour wait to get to A&E with hip break

When 85-year-old Koulla fell at home, her family immediately rang for an ambulance. She was in agonising pain - she had broken her hip.

It was around 8pm. It took another 14 hours for an ambulance to get to her, leaving her pregnant granddaughter to care for her through the night.

When they arrived the crews were able to give her pain relief and quickly transported her to the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

But there the wait continued - there were around 30 ambulances queuing to handover patients to A&E staff.

It was another 26 hours before she was taken inside to A&E.

She then faced many hours in A&E before being taken for surgery.

Koulla's daughter, Marianna Flint, 53, said: "It was awful. You feel helpless because you're giving your trust over to them to look after a family member who's in agony and who needs surgery."

She has since received a written apology from the Royal Cornwall for the care provided to her mother in August.

Ms Flint said: "I almost feel sorry for those looking after her. It's not down to them. There was no room inside to accept her in."

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Source: BBC News, 1 December 2022