AN elderly 71-YEAR-OLD woman was left lying on the floor in agonising pain for more than ten hours as she waited for an ambulance after falling at home.

Marilyn Head, 71, was in her bedroom when she tripped over the washing basket lid and fell to the floor atin her home in Hullbridge.

As soon as Marilyn hit the floor, she was in agony and unable to get up, with her husband calling 999 at around 7.45pm. 

READ MORE >> REVEALED: The most bizarre things in lost and found at south Essex Travelodge hotels

Those on the 999 call reportedly told the couple an ambulance would be sent out “within six hours” and to not to move Marilyn until an ambulance arrived.

An ambulance didn’t arrive at the home until 6am the following daymorning, with Marilyn left in “agony” throughout the ten-hour wait. 

Marilyn said: “The ambulance crews on the phone told me to not move, and an ambulance would be with me within six hours. I was in so much agony and panicking too.

“Six hours went by and still nothing, so we rang again, and they said it would be within eight hours. Eight hours went by and still nothing, but we didn’t ring again, we just sat tight, until it eventually arrived ten and a half hours later. It was a nightmare, it was awful, the pain was something else. I was so frightened.

“You hear of these things, but you never think about how bad it is until it actually happens to you. I will never, ever, forget, just laying their all that time.”

Marilyn was later released by Southend Hospital at around 2pm on December 30, with the “worst possible arm fracture” and a number of cuts and bruises, whichthat had to be treated.

She is now recovering at home after the fall on December 29, but may need an operation in the future. 

Marilyn added: “The two paramedics who did arrive couldn’t have been nicer, and were so apologetic. I didn’t have to wait long in the ambulance at Southend Hospital either, and was in within less than an hour, before then being seen and treated straight away.”

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise to

Ms Head for her experience and encourage her to please contact our dedicated patient experience team to discuss the case in more detail.”

“Over the Christmas and New Year period we experienced extremely high demand on our services and significant handover delays at hospitals which impacted on our ability to respond to patients. We are working very closely with hospitals to reduce delays and are doing all we can to boost the number of ambulances we have on the road, including recruiting additional clinical staff and using non-clinical drivers.

“We’re also working to reduce the number of patients going to hospital, including directing patients to urgent community response services when appropriate. We continue to ask the public to use NHS resources wisely as we must prioritise those most in need.”