A GOOD samaritan who waited with an Oswestry woman during a 11-HOUR wait for an ambulance after breaking her leg has been thanked by the family for her support.
Lynne Jones, 62 and from Llynclys, was left on the road in the village, outside Oswestry, from around 5.13pm until 3.39am the following day.
However, according to son Simon, she was given constant care by Lisa Hughes, a trainee paramedic who stayed for the entire time, keeping her comfortable and ensuring she did not move the seriously injured leg.
Simon said the family were grateful for her support.
"Mum had surgery on Sunday – it was a really nasty break and she's had to have a metal rod inserted," said Simon.
"It's a long road to to recovery and they've told her that she's going to be using a stick from now.
"My mum rang me at just 5pm, and I think they rang the ambulance about 30 minutes before that but it didn't turn up until 4.30am.
"I also rang the ambulance service to get updates.
"The staff on the phone were really understanding and full of empathy but they were saying there was no way they could tell us when the ambulance was going to arrive but we didn't expect it to be that late.
"Lisa helped mum – she lives nearby and she's training to be a paramedic.
"She was off the for the day and spent all that time with my mum, she was there lying flat on the pavement, putting her in the best position to stop mum moving and causing more damage.
"Lisa realised this was a serious thing and there was no way we could move her without having the equipment needed.
"We want to thank Lisa from the bottom of our hearts – she was a proper Good Samaritan as she didn't have to spend all day out there with mum.
"She could have done her bit but then gone home but it shows that there are people out there who are willing to go above and beyond."
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Simon acknowledged that his mum was lucky to receive the help she did but called on health bosses to tackle the ambulance crisis that has engulfed the county.
He added: "Had this been winter, she could have been out in there in the rain and elements, right next to a busy road and even in the sun it's not great,
"Everyone is sympathetic to the current crisis for ambulances.
"But we have to move forward at some point and realise it is an ongoing issue and some peoples' lives might be in danger and health bosses have to step up and find a better way.
"How long does this go on for before we no longer accept it as the status quo."
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We would like to apologise to the patient for the delayed response.
“The ambulance service relies on each part of the health and social care system working together so that our ambulances can get to patients in the community quickly.
"Sadly, the pressures we are seeing in health and social care lead to long hospital handover delays with our crews left caring for patients that need admitting to hospital rather than responding to the next call.
"The result is that our crews are delayed reaching patients.
“We are working incredibly hard with all of our NHS and social care partners to prevent these delays, looking at new ways to safely hand over patients quickly so that our crews can respond more rapidly and save more lives.”
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