EnglandOn Monday evening, 87-year-old David Wakeley had a terrible fall on his balcony in Cornwall. The Englishman suffered fractures to his pelvis and ribs, among other things. Emergency services were alerted, but only a day later the elderly man was taken by ambulance. His family is angry. “We kept calling to ask where the ambulance was, but we always blocked it,” son Phil, 58, complains.
According to Phil, it was a “horrible situation”, but everyone did their best to help the 80-year-old, including putting pillows under him. It wasn’t cold outside, but rain was forecast, so the family built a shelter to help David – who is also battling prostate cancer – spend the night as comfortably as possible.
The boys and children had a soccer goal and approached the neighbours. In the garage an elephant found a tarpaulin that he laid over the goal and with three umbrellas they closed the remaining openings.
The public health system is just broken. It seems that no one cares and no one is willing to fix it
the mother
David’s daughter Karen shared a photo of the makeshift camp on Twitter, after which the British media picked up the story. “An 87-year-old man has to wait long on a cold floor for help, that’s not fun. Because of prostate cancer, the old man has a stoma. We had to empty it all night. In the meantime, we tried to keep my dad’s spirits up,” says David’s family. ‘ says Phil.
He and his sister insisted that their mother go to sleep, but the 82-year-old was very upset and also stayed up all night with David.
hospital
Emergency services were first notified around 7:34 p.m. on Monday, and the family did not see an ambulance arriving until 11 a.m. the following morning. David is currently still in the hospital. The fall left the 87-year-old with pelvic fractures, seven broken ribs, head scratches and an arm cut. His children “hope and pray” for him to go through this.
the answers
Meanwhile, the family demands answers. Because how can you wait at least 15 hours for help? According to David’s son-in-law, “The public health system is completely broken.” “No one seems to care and no one is willing to fix it.” Travis says NHS staff are doing their best, but the question is how things like this can continue to happen.
Unfortunately, David’s story is not an isolated case in England. After the Wakeley family’s cry for help, several Twitter users shared personal stories online. For example, one person reported that his father had fallen at home last week and had been lying on the kitchen floor with a head injury for 11 hours, waiting for help. The man is diabetic. His wife sat next to him the whole time to stop the bleeding and keep his glucose levels high.
“enormous pressure”
A spokesperson for the NHS Regional Ambulance Service said he was shocked by David’s story. “We are shocked and want to apologize for the ordeal this 87-year-old has been through. Our doctors are doing their best every day for patients, but health care workers are under tremendous pressure. We are working with our NHS and Social Care partners in Cornwall and doing our best. Our effort is to improve it.”
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