Elderly Limerick woman waits five hours for ambulance after fall

AN ELDERLY woman, now in hospital with a suspected fractured hip, was left lying on the street for five hours waiting to be attended to by ambulance staff.

The incident in Castleconnell has been described as “hugely traumatic” by local Senator Dee Ryan, a neighbour of the popular woman who had marked her 80th birthday just days before she suffered the fall which led to her needing the emergency services.

Ms Ryan has now written to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to demand an explanation as to how the incident, which unfolded on Saturday evening last, happened.

READ MORE: Flags erected in Limerick 'to try and create division in our community', councillor claims

The woman, who is well-known in Castleconnell and lives alone in an estate in the village, remained at University Hospital Limerick this Tuesday, awaiting surgery.

She suffered the fall at around 6.15pm on Saturday evening, and it's understood she was left lying in discomfort until after 11pm that night waiting for an ambulance to attend the scene.

“I am absolutely shocked. I fail to understand how it could have taken five hours for an 80-year-old woman to be picked up off the ground by an ambulance. I thank all the neighbours in Castleconnell, who stayed with her to make sure she was as warm, safe and comfortable as possible during this very long period,” Ms Ryan added.

“This is a lady who is well-known, well-respected, and well-loved,” the Senator continued. “She would have had a number of people caring for her who were getting more and more distressed by the minute as to how long it was taking to give her the necessary attention.”

A former HSE worker, who requested to remain anonymous, was witness to the scene. “We were totally frustrated. We felt totally helpless as we couldn’t do anything. We were told we couldn’t lift her up to take her inside. There were children around. It was Mass time as well,” she said.

While the woman was waiting for the ambulance, an off-duty paramedic living near Castleconnell provided support.

Locals said they considered hiring a private ambulance at one stage.

But they were told that this might have proven problematic because they had already made a 999 call.

“Nobody really knew what to do. It would be great if some kind of protocol was printed to tell us what we should and should not do,” said the resident.

A spokesperson for the HSE National Ambulance Service said that it uses the private ambulance sector to deliver transport between facilities, but not for prehospital emergency care.

“If a member of the public decides to commission a private ambulance, then that, along with the associated costs would be a matter for the individual and the provider,” they said.

They declined to comment on the incident itself.

But they said all 999 or 112 calls are prioritised using am “internationally recognised” system which assesses calls based on clinical priority.