Ex-paramedic 'disgusted' by two-hour ambulance wait for pensioner who broke leg in Sheffield park

A 70-year-old woman fell on a path in Millhouses Park and broke her femur on Saturday afternoon at around 12.50pm, but an ambulance did not arrive until 3pm.

Chris Loneragan, who came to the lady's aid, said he had never experienced such an 'unacceptable' delay during his 13 years working as a paramedic in Surrey.

"I understand the NHS is in the middle of a major crisis and this is a reflection of that," he said.

"But a response time of over two hours for a 70-year-old with a broken femur, who is possibly hypothermic as she's been lying on the cold wet ground, is unacceptable.

"She had a potentially life-threatening leg injury and it's absolutely disgusting she had to wait so long for an ambulance."

It is just over a fortnight since a man complained about his elderly mother waiting two hours in the cold for an ambulance after a serious fall, as The Star previously reported.

Mr Loneragan said he was walking through the park, in Abbeydale Road South, when he found the woman lying on the ground with her friend and a doctor, who also happened to be passing, crouching over her.

He claims they had originally called for an ambulance at around 12.50pm, but when he called at 1.30pm he was told there was no record of the original call.

A single responder arrived in a car at around 2pm, he said. but it was another hour before paramedics finally turned up in an ambulance and took her to hospital.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: The emergency call was received during a particularly busy period on Saturday afternoon and we were doing our best to respond as quickly as possible to all patients who needed our assistance.

"We would like to reassure members of the public that our main priority continues to be providing a safe, responsive and high quality service to the people of Yorkshire."