91-year-old Luton man's 5-hour wait for ambulance

A 91-year-old spent nearly five hours on the floor waiting for an ambulance after a fall '“ despite living just half a mile away from hospital.
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War veteran Robert Robinson was found by his carer on the floor of his Luton home after a fall on Sunday morning.

Grandson Darrin Dolby rushed over to his address and called for an ambulance soon after 11am but paramedics did not arrive until 3.45pm.

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“Obviously, he was quite uncomfortable lying on the floor and I was concerned because of his age,” said Mr Dolby.

“He kept wanting to get up and he wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything.

“I kept calling the ambulance number and was told one wasn’t available. When paramedics did arrive, they showed us their log to say they’d had the call three minutes before.

“I’m not blaming the paramedics because they can only turn up when they get the call. They were brilliant with my grandad.”

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Mr Robinson lives just half a mile from Luton & Dunstable Hospital, which can be seen from his window.

Despite some cuts and bruises, he is now recovering well from his injury.

An East of England Ambulance spokesman said: “We received an emergency 999 call for a male reported to be in his 90s who was on the floor with an arm injury.

“An ambulance car was sent, who treated the patient at scene and did not require transportation to hospital.

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“Due to high pressures on the Trust in the area at the time, the patient experienced a delay in a response being sent. We welcome the patient or his family to get in touch with us to discuss this further.”

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