On thursday 14th July 2016 my father who is 67 and retired had a collision on his bicycle with another cyclist that was texting whilst cycling.
Unfortunately he was thrown over the handlebars to eventually land on his back.
This happened around 1pm in the afternoon in Swindon, Wilts
The emergency services were called 3 times whilst he lay on the tarmac for over 45mins with intense chest pain and minor bleeding cuts and grazes, finding it difficult to breath.
No paramedic or ambulance arrived on scene and this is the 1st time in his life that he has ever had to call for emergency assistance. He also served 23 years in the British Army and worked all his life paying into the system never claiming 1 penny.
Fortunately he was spotted laying on the floor by Traffic Officers who swiftly drove him to the local hospital.
After x-rays he appears to have sustained 3 broken ribs, cuts and grazes all over legs and arms along with large bruised swellings.
I'm furious as he could have had a punctured lung, spinal damage, other broken bones etc. Luckily was wearing a cycle helmet. 5 broken spokes on front bicycle wheel and twisted frame can be replaced but a life can't.
Is this an acceptable level of service and have the emergency services failed him? Should I take this further and if so would greatly appreciate any information.
This could be you or I one day and might not be so lucky to make it in time to the hospital.
Written by
JasonThomas
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
The ability to reply to this post has been turned off.
I would definitely write and ask for an explanation as this is not acceptable. I think they should arrive within ten minutes, or is it 8? How about writing to your MP?
Did the emergency services offer any explanation?
What happened to the other cyclist? Is he/she bring charged?
Certainly you should make a formal complaint. My neighbour ,a fit 40 ish was knocked off his bike last week by a car driver coming straight out of a junction .He went eight feet in the air. Stupidly ,the woman driver who was panicking ,drove him home .His wife was making the driver tea as she was in shock. When his wife got him to A&E they told her she should not have driven! A&E was full of idiots ,drunks etc. The receptionist was painting her nails and taking no notice of the cyclist who was fainting.
My neighbour has complained formally about the receptionist.
What a stupid woman! I can`t unterstand people who do this in their cars & cause mayhem on the roads. Unfortunately, judges are very lenient to people like this. She`ll probably get just a couple of weeks community service!
Iv`e never been able to understand the soft sentences handed down by judges in these cases. Careless driving leads to deaths & ruined lives, They should give punishments that are a deterrent.
I would definately write to your local CCG or Healthwatch to note this is not acceptable, or you could make an official complaint to the local Ambulance service, which will take time to deal with. Or another option is write to your local newspaper, or MP
I think he was failed by the services and you need to do something to deal with your anger of what happened. Making a complaint is time consuming, stressful and not always fruitful from my experience, but it does let people know and write to your local papers, your MP and contact your local radio. Make as big a fuss as you can. It is not necessarily the fault of the ambulance drivers as they could have been really busy - occupied elsewhere, but that doesn't help your father.
Today I signed a petition to stop further privatisation of our NHS. I can only see more and more of this happening if privatisation continues.
They are occupied elsewhere as running Telecare on a corporate call centre & charity franchising out with noone in ethical charge .They are not following agreed procedures .I am without mine having to cancel because I cannot bear the fact they are doing this noone in aurhority eg: MP wants to know? .They even send them out when cancelled machine and you can guess who gets blamed .
As for the LA who refuse to adress the medical this is not good enough .They also refuse to address the safety aspect pretending the GPs will sort out.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Deep Brain Stimulation!!
Questions asked if referred by a GP