FRIENDS of a 91-year-old osteoporosis sufferer left lying in the street for two-and-a-half hours waiting for an ambulance condemned her treatment as "diabolical" last night.

The criticism of North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) comes days after a North-East MP told Parliament there was something "severely wrong" with the organisation.

Friends and neighbours say they rang NEAS five times before paramedics finally arrived after the pensioner was found on the ground in Cloverdale, Darlington, at around 5pm on Tuesday evening.

The injured pensioner was bleeding from her mouth and elbow.

She was in considerable pain and people were reluctant to move her for fear of making her injuries worse because of her condition.

They hoped an ambulance would arrive within minutes, however it was not until after 7.30pm when paramedics finally arrived - despite friends calling NEAS four more times to find out why there was a delay.

Friend Elizabeth Graham found the woman on the floor while walking her dog.

She added: "They told us they realised it was an urgent case but they were very busy. It wasn't the paramedics' fault or the girls in the call centre, but the system is absolutely diabolical.

"Luckily she never lost her sense of humour. She said 'I'm either going to bleed to death or die of pneumonia' - bless her."

Miss Graham said the woman endured further delays when she arrived at Darlington Memorial Hospital which was under severe pressure with standing-room only in accident and emergency.

Neighbour Anne-Marie Mannion, 63, also came to the woman's aid.

She visited her friend in Darlington Memorial Hospital yesterday and said she was in good spirits, adding: "She was a brave little trooper - she never complained once and she was so cold and so uncomfortable.

"There's something very wrong if it takes two-and-a-half hours for an ambulance to reach a 91-year-old lying on the cold, hard ground."

NEAS last night apologised to the patient for the delay.

A spokeswoman said: "At the time of this call we were dealing with a high volume of life threatening calls.

"Our response was also exacerbated by hospital delays in Darlington, which had a detrimental impact on our ability to respond any quicker.

"We are currently reviewing the way we assess and respond to elderly patients who have fallen as a result of the number of cases where patients have experienced delays such as this."

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Darlington Memorial Hospital, said the Emergency Department was "exceptionally busy" on Tuesday with more than 30 ambulances attending.

A spokeswoman added that there was also pressure on bed availability within the hospital.

"We recognise this is not a good patient experience and are working on ways of improving the emergency care pathway by targeting improvements that impact upon patient handovers, lengths of stay and performance as well as a focus on improving the flow of patients through to discharge management.”

Friends of the woman have alerted Darlington MP Jenny Chapman who last night told the Echo she was "fed-up with NEAS apologies".

She added: "This is simply not good enough.

"I understand that they want to prioritise, but to simply leave someone for two-and-a-half hours who is in pain is not acceptable.

"We've had enough of apologies - it's time we saw dramatic improvements in service."

Last week, Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, told a Westminster Hall Adjournment Debate on response times that there was something "severely wrong" with the region's ambulance service.

In February, the Echo revealed how footballer Mike Coleman, 28, was left shivering on the ground for two hours in “unbearable” pain waiting for an ambulance after fracturing both bones in his right leg while playing for Darlington RA.

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