Hospital ward calls 999 for ambulance to move patient 400 metres ‘to replace catheter’
Hospital ward calls 999 for ambulance to move patient 400 metres ‘to replace catheter’
Share:
A hospital phoned for an ambulance so an elderly patient could be driven 400m to A&E to have a catheter replaced, says his daughter. Staff called 999, before paramedics arrived to transfer Brian Dunne, 83, from one ward to another at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
He then had to wait in a queue of ambulances outside A&E, before being seen by medics, according to daughter Sally Sippitts. An ambulance service spokesperson has confirmed they received an ’emergency 999 call’ that was categories as ‘C2’, the second most serious call.
But Ms Sippitts said her father – who has Alzheimer’s – only needed a catheter changed, and has no idea why this required a transfer by ambulance to A&E. The mum-of-three and GP receptionist said she spoke to paramedics who were ‘frustrated’ and agreed with her that it was ‘not a good use of their time and resources’.
The crew had been in Perry Barr in Birmingham when called, so had to drive six miles to then make a journey of 400 metres. Retired postman Mr Dunne has been at the hospital since December 18 last year as his body is retaining fluids and needs to be drained.
Ms Sippitts received a call around 7pm on January 15 to say her father had been moved to A&E and ‘thought the worst’. ‘They then explained they had dialled 999 for an ambulance to take him there and I was a bit confused to say the least,’ she said.
