A SON has branded the ambulance service “disgraceful” as his elderly mother was left waiting for more than four hours after a fall in her home.

David Bundock, 54, who lives in Barking, has made a formal complaint about the East of England Ambulance Service, because the call handler incorrectly coded his mother’s condition.

Maureen Bundock, 76, of Cheshunt Close, Hockley, was left lying on her kitchen floor for two hours and waiting for an ambulance for more than four hours.

Mr Bundock said: “It was about 5pm. I had just brought my mum back from the shop and all of a sudden she fell over the bin, hit her head and landed badly on the kitchen floor. She had broken her hip in the past so I called 999. The operator said not to move her under any circumstances, so we put a pillow under her head and waited. She was in a lot of discomfort.”

An hour later, a clinical co-ordinator called back to check on Mrs Bundock’s condition and determined it as stable with no need to upgrade the response.

“After two hours, she said she really needed the toilet. We told her we couldn’t move her, but how long do you wait?

“My sister eventually took her to the toilet, with some difficulty, and then we placed her in a chair in the front room.”

A rapid response vehicle finally arrived at 9.40pm and a paramedic checked Mrs Bundock over before advising that she did not need hospital treatment but to go to hospital if she felt any more pain the day after.

After investigating the complaint, the ambulance service confirmed that the initial triage by the first call handler was not done correctly. Mrs Bundock’s conscious level was not recorded correctly and the call was incorrectly coded at a lower priority than it should have been.

It was categorised as Green 2, requiring an emergency response within 30 minutes in 75 per cent of cases.

When Mr Bundock called again at 9.20pm, the call was coded as Red 2, which requires a response within eight minutes in 75 per cent of cases.

He added: “I complained to the ambulance service and they have done an investigation but I am going to take it to the ombudsman because their response is not good enough. We’re not after money or anything. We just want to make sure this isn’t happening to anyone else. Four hours is disgraceful.”

Earlier this week, the Echo reported how Lee Wheeler, an amputee who dislocated his knee, was left waiting for an ambulance for more than six hours. In both cases, the ambulance service have cited “considerable pressures” in the face of increasing demand for the delay in treatment to patients.

But Mr Bundock added: “They say they need more staff but then do it. Take more people on.

“If my mum had been waiting in hospital, I wouldn’t have been half as worried but on the floor is just ridiculous.”

THE ambulance service conducted an investigation into the handling of Mrs Bundock’s case and sent a detailed response back to her son, David, addressing each of his concerns.

It said: “The auditor notes that your mother’s conscious level was not recorded correctly and the call should have been coded higher.

“Please accept my apologies and the call handler will be dealt with in line with Trust internal procedure.

“Regrettably, there were no emergency ambulances available to assign. The demand placed on the 999 system outweighed the number of emergency ambulances available to respond to patients.

“The Trust was experiencing problems with ambulances capable of conveying patients to hospital being delayed at Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals.”

The response also outlined that it was procedure to advise patients not be moved after a fall in order to prevent aggravation of any injuries.

It added: “The Trust recognises that we need more staff to be available to respond to our patients and therefore is continuing our recruitment programme.”