Blind woman, 90, suffers a fall in hospital – and has to wait nearly two hours for an ambulance

A 90-year-old blind woman who suffered a horrific fall in a hospital was left waiting nearly two hours for an ambulance.

Kathy Blue, who also suffers from Type 2 diabetes, was left covered in blood on October 28 after crashing to the ground whilst attempting to go to the bathroom on a ward at Lightburn Hospital in Glasgow.

The pensioner, who was an in-patient at the rehabilitation unit recovering from hip surgery, was then told she would need to be taken across the city for an emergency scan and stitches.

But after an ambulance was called at 7.36pm, she was left waiting nearly two hours until its arrival at 9.21pm.

Ms Blue’s son, Billy, has explained the severity of the situation, saying how his mother looked like she had ‘been in a car crash’ and was soaked with blood when he was called to the hospital by medics.

‘I was horrified’, he said. ‘She was sitting on the bed with her head wrapped in bandages with blood seeping through.’

He continued: ‘Her pyjama top was soaked, as well as her pillow. The nurses were using towels to try to stem the bleeding, but nothing was really working.

‘She was obviously distressed at what had happened.

Kathy’s Blue’s son, Billy, holding his mother’s blood-soaked nightshirt after her fall on October 28

Ms Blue’s son, Billy, told how his mother looked like she had ‘been in a car crash’ and was soaked with blood when he was called to the hospital by medics

‘About an hour later a doctor arrived and she also struggled to stop the flow because my mum is on mild blood thinners.

‘I was told because she’d hit her head on the floor she would need to go to the Royal Infirmary for a CT scan and to have the wound seen to, and we were told an ambulance would be called to take her there.

‘I’ve still no idea when the actual accident took place, nobody at Lightburn seems to be willing to tell me that and I want answers.’

Billy says he was shocked at the delay, given the seriousness of his mother’s condition, and where the incident had taken place.

He added: ‘It all seemed madness because she was already at a hospital.

‘I understand staff are under a lot of pressure, and many of them do a good job, but it’s just not fair to leave an elderly woman sitting around for that length of time waiting for help.’

Kathy was eventually taken across the city and doctors decided the pensioner should be kept in and administered a blood transfusion as her haemoglobin was low.

But Billy, from Robroyston in the north-east of Glasgow, claims that he then received a call from a staff member at Lightburn saying that his mum’s bed had been given to another patient.

Ms Blue was an in-patient at Lightburn Hospital in Glasgow whilst recovering from hip surgery

The 65-year-old, who also helps to care for his mum, says that he was stunned as Ms Blue had been an in-patient at the hospital since June, and was undergoing regular physiotherapy to aid her return to the family home.

He added: ‘Initially, my mum was only going to be in the Royal overnight for scans and stiches, so I was flabbergasted when I was told that her bed at Lightburn had been given away.

‘I was expecting her to go back there to complete her rehab as the staff had been very good with her. She knew everyone and felt settled.’

Billy says it is the second time his mum has been taken to the acute unit at the Royal Infirmary this year. In May she ended up there after becoming extremely dehydrated.

He also told how her blood sugar levels crept up from six to 23, a concerning hike for a diabetic.

Blind woman, 90, who fell in hospital waits two hours for ambulance

Blind woman, 90, suffers a fall in hospital – and has to wait nearly two hours for an ambulance

READ MORE: Family are forced to build makeshift shelter out of a GOAL, bin bags and umbrellas for elderly father, 87, who broke his pelvis and ribs as he waited 15 HOURS for an ambulance