THE niece of an elderly woman who fell, suffering serious head and hip injuries, has paid tribute to the fast acting ambulance service which saved her.

Sylvia Schollar, 78, known as 'Pibby' fell at niece Jacky Ivesons’s home in Aiskew, near Bedale, after being knocked off balance by the family bulldog.

Jacky initially phoned 111 not knowing what to do, but as her aunt began losing consciousness, operators alerted emergency services.

“It was so traumatic,” said Mrs Iveson. “None of us had any medical training and we weren’t sure what to do, we were all fearing the worst and panicking and within five minutes the First Responders arrived and then two paramedics, then the ambulance.

“I can’t say what a relief it was to see them. They were so professional and calm, they helped bring Pibby round and stabilised her and gave her morphine."

She was taken to the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.

“She badly damaged her hip and had a head injury but she’s okay. We just wanted to say thank you, it could all have been so different without the prompt action of the ambulance services.

“They get so much criticism, I wanted to say they did a brilliant job, I don’t know where we would have been without them.

“Until you actually have an emergency you have no idea how crucial the service is. They were so calm and within a few minutes they had everything under control, and were telling us not to blame the dog. It really was one of the most frightening experiences of my life but they made all the difference. I just wish I had got their names to thank them personally and let them know that Pibby is doing ok.”

Mrs Schollar, from Leyburn , who worked at the Brentwood care home for many years, is now back at home with husband Peter, and making a good recovery.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been under fire for failing to meet response times, between April and September last year they received 355,243 calls of which 147,045 were emergencies 71.2 per cent were responded to within eight minutes, the target is to reach 75 per cent.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said:“We respond to over 2,000 emergency calls a day and we always appreciate positive feedback about the services our staff provide to patients. We would like to send Mrs Schollar our best wishes for her continued recovery.”