Waiting times

The need for major improvements to the ambulance service in Newark and the surrounding area is brought into sharp focus by the recent experiences of two families, both involving very young children.

When Georgina Day called for an ambulance in the early hours she was acting on medical advice given to her after her son Zak’s premature birth.

She had been told if, at any point, Zak’s breathing deteriorated she was to call an ambulance.

When she did so she had to endure a two-hour wait before one arrived.

The anxious family of one-year-old Harry Lewell, meanwhile, who needed intensive care treatment for a severe flu-type virus, faced long waits for ambulance transfers to King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

In one case they had to wait more than six hours.

Thankfully, Zak and Harry are recovering but the stress of coping with their sickness was only made worse for their families by the ambulance difficulties they encountered

We keep being told hospitals more than 20 miles away are the best places to be treated for more serious conditions, but ambulances then have to be available to get patients there.

East Midlands Ambulance Service has admitted it is failing to meet response times in the Newark postcode areas.

The skill and dedication of frontline crews is not in question, but there needs to be enough of them available to serve this area properly.

EMAS has said its impending reorganisation will improve response times. People in this area wait to be convinced of that.