Man having suspected stroke told of SIX HOUR wait for an ambulance to arrive at Northamptonshire home

A man who called 999 for an employee who was having a suspected stroke was told an abulance would be a six-hour wait.

The emergency call was made at around 2.3pm on Monday this week when an employee at a house in Flore became unwell when one side of his body went numb.

Suspecting a stroke, the family on site made a frantic call to 999 asking for help.

The anonymous lady, from Flore who didn’t want to be named, said: “My husband called for an ambulance to be told it would be a six hour wait.

"He drove him to hospital [Northampton General Hospital] himself. We arrived and there were four ambulances outside not being used.

“If people don’t have a car then they could be dead in six hours.

“I did check if they were on strike on that day but they weren’t.”

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has since apologised after being contacted by this newspaper.

Michael Jones, Divisional Director for Northamptonshire at EMAS, said: “Every 999 call is assessed based on the information provided by the caller. People experiencing a life-threatening emergency such as a cardiac arrest, where the patient is unconscious or not breathing, are responded to as a priority. For calls where the patient’s condition is not immediately life threatening or serious, the caller/patient may be asked if they are able to make their own way to a treatment centre, for example if a relative can take them by car or taxi.

“A significant number of calls coming in meant that we were not able to respond more quickly on this occasion. The caller confirmed they would make their own way to hospital.

“We are sorry for the distress experienced and we have offered to speak with the patient or their family to allow us to respond directly to their concerns.”

EMAS said that following additional goverment funding being allocated in April this year, it is actively recruiting additonal members of staff throughout the year.