Pensioner, 95, left on cold pavement with broken hip for five hours told by 999 she’s ‘not a priority’

A 95-year-old woman was left on a cold pavement for more than five hours waiting for an ambulance after the emergency services told a bystander trying to help her that she wasn’t a priority.

Winifred Soanes fell and broke her hip on Christchurch High Street in Bournemouth on 25 November.

Her husband Andrew, 92, “wouldn’t leave her side”, and several people in the area tried to help out, with local businesses offering essentials to help Winifred.

Jennifer Baylis, who works at a nearby Prama charity shop, helped throughout the day. She said: “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said, ‘I’m going to die here tonight’”.

Ms Baylis said a number of people attempted to call an ambulance to help Winifred, but they were given no timeframe and told she was not a priority by the emergency services.

Winifred was eventually taken to Poole Hospital for treatment and is waiting for an operation, he said.

David Lovell, a bystander who was the first to call for an ambulance, said: “I can’t describe how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped really quickly.

“She was lying on the cold pavement, and we couldn’t move her because she was in huge amounts of pain”.

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Source: The Independent, 1 December 2024