Ambulance times: Mum told to wait hours after child's seizure

A parent has spoken of her fearfulness aft being told she would person to hold hours for an ambulance aft her lad became "lifeless" connected the mode to A&E.

Georgia Faith Johnson called 999 erstwhile Tobias, aged two, had a seizure astatine their Cardiff home, but was told it was an 8 hr wait.

As she tried to get to A&E helium went "floppy", but was told to show him astatine the broadside of the road.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said it was nether utmost pressure.

"It was ace scary," she said. "It conscionable petrifies to accidental the slightest that my lifeless two-year aged wasn't capable of an exigency to get the assistance of the ambulances. The cuts to the NHS are conscionable truthful scary".

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Georgia said she called 999 erstwhile Tobias' eyes rolled to the backmost of his caput and the colour drained from his look astatine their Cardiff location connected Monday evening.

She said the 999 telephone handler told her to "get to the infirmary immediately, but determination are nary ambulances available" and she would person to hold hours.

Georgia bundled her lad successful the car and tried to get him to A&E, but wrong minutes they were stuck successful traffic.

"As I turned to look astatine my son, unluckily helium was beauteous lifeless," she said.

"He was floppy and the colour was drained from his lips and each of his face."

She called 999 and asked for an ambulance again, and was told she needed to way her son's breathing, which was highly fast.

She said she was told: "You request to get him retired of the car, laic him level and inquire idiosyncratic to get a defibrillator successful lawsuit helium goes into cardiac arrest.

"At this constituent I was conscionable crying and begging: delight conscionable nonstop an ambulance to which she was responding it would inactive beryllium a five-hour hold astatine least."

After an hour, an ambulance successful the postulation spotted them and blue-lighted them consecutive to hospital. Tobias was sedated for 19 hours to halt the seizure.

She said: "To deliberation that what happened to my lad and I is looking astatine becoming the norm successful Wales is conscionable incredibly bittersweet and worrying.

"Not conscionable for radical similar america but for the unit of the NHS excessively who are moving nether immense unit arsenic it is."

A enactment successful the Senedd went viral this week betwixt First Minister Mark Drakeford and Welsh Conservative person Andrew RT Davies erstwhile the second attacked the archetypal curate implicit ambulance waiting times.

The archetypal curate deed back, saying it was partially the Conservatives' responsibility for making a messiness of the UK's fund and reputation.

Georgia said she was "reassured" by however powerfully Mr Drakeford feels astir the substance of ambulance waiting times, and that she could subordinate to his frustration.

She said she did not privation to pin the blasted connected anyone specifically, but stressed the Ambulance Service and the radical of Wales merit a batch amended from the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said it was precise atrocious astir the distressing acquisition Ms Faith-Johnson went through, adding it was nether utmost pressure. Protracted infirmary handover delays are besides earnestly affecting their quality to scope patients arsenic rapidly arsenic they would like, the work said.