When Dean Freeman’s wife began feeling extreme abdominal discomfort on Saturday, September 6, he put a call through for an ambulance at 7pm.
Located in Washdyke, he was told an ambulance had been dispatched but it was a busy night.
An hour and a-half had passed and with no sign of an ambulance he called again at 8.33pm and was told it could still be a couple of hours away.
He then spoke to a paramedic who instructed him to put his wife in the recovery position and if she was not bleeding from the mouth or backside it would not be a priority.
By 9.30pm an ambulance still had not arrived.
Unable to take her to the hospital himself, Mr Freeman called his brother-in-law, who took Mrs Freeman to Timaru Hospital.
At 9.37pm Mr Freeman called to cancel the ambulance.
During the telephone conversation with St John he was told only two ambulances were allocated to Timaru for the weekend and it would have been likely an ambulance would not have arrived until well after midnight.
The cause of the abdominal pain had been a tumour in the form of returning bowel cancer.
Mr Freeman said while he understood delays could happen, to be left in the lurch was just not good enough.
"My wife hasn’t died from not being picked up, but the diagnosis is very critical, considering she has a history of cancer. It was just a bad experience which we didn’t really need.
"On the whole people do not ring for an ambulance unless they feel there is no other option and feel that their health is at risk. There are a lot of people living alone and they have no other option but to call an ambulance if their health fails.
"What happens if an elderly person calls for an ambulance and has to wait hours for someone to arrive? It should also be noted that upon inquiring at the hospital between the hours of 7pm and 3am four patients were delivered to the ER department."
He said the couple were members and supporters of St John.
"I fund them through my businesses and feel that their services are very important and definitely required in the community.
"We have a great deal of respect for St John staff, they do an amazing job, but why are they now in the position where they cannot meet the requirements of the community and why can’t ambulances be dispatched and reach people in a timely manner? It’s frightening that things have got to this stage."
A St John spokesperson acknowledged the concern raised and said the organisation was sorry an ambulance was not immediately available on that occasion.
"Our priority is always to respond first to those in the most life-threatening conditions, and we carefully assess every 111 call using an internationally-recognised triage system to make sure the most unwell patients are seen as quickly as possible.
"In this case, our clinical support officer assessed that, given the patient’s condition at the time and the expected delay, it was safe for her to be taken to hospital by family. Our clinician provided advice throughout the call, including what to do if the patient’s condition worsened."
They said there had been an unprecedented demand for ambulances across the country and August had been their busiest month on record.
"Timaru is typically resourced with two emergency ambulances, supported by neighbouring towns when required. On busier nights, this can mean longer waits for non life-threatening cases, while crews remain focused on those patients who need us most urgently.
"It’s also important for people to know that arriving by ambulance does not mean faster treatment at hospital, as Emergency Departments triage all patients on arrival based on clinical need.
"We continue to review all cases carefully, and patient feedback is a vital part of how we learn and improve while working alongside the wider health system to meet community needs."
Mr Freeman said he was not concerned just because of their own experience but was concerned for what it could mean for South Canterbury as a whole.
"People say to me, ‘how’s your wife?’ and I’ll say ‘she was really good up until last weekend when the ambulance never turned up and then hear ‘what? I had the same experience’.
"We’ve talked to a number of people about it and we’ve got a lot of support behind us. We just want the public to be aware that, hey, we just can’t rely on them like we once could and I’m just starting to hear the same story more and more."
