47-year-old woman dies in cold after waiting 6 hours for ambulance

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ambulance, health, winter, heart attack

The mother-of-one suffered from an irregular heartbeat and had two mini-strokes earlier.

By Web Report

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Published: Fri 20 Dec 2019, 11:04 AM

Last updated: Fri 20 Dec 2019, 1:12 PM

A 47-year-old woman awaited nearly six hours for ambulance on a freezing pavement from where she slipped and broke her foot, but died of heart attack hours later.
Donna Gilby, from Wales, left her house around 8am on Tuesday for a doctor's appointment when she slipped from the steps on the pavement. Photos on Daily Mail, show Gilby lying on the pavement unable to move as her friends and neighbours covered her with blankets and duvets.
Gilby, the mother-of-one, suffered from an irregular heart beat and had two mini-strokes earlier. Her father Gareth Gilby, 74, a former factory worker, said, "We then called the ambulance service and told them Donna was slipping in and out of consciousness."
Gilby's father added that the emergency services call handler told them there was 'heavy influx of calls' and they would be with her 'as soon as possible'. The ambulance finally arrived shortly before 2pm and rushed Gilby to Prince Charles hospital in Merthyr Tydfil where she died of a cardiac arrest.
"Her poor little girl. Every Christmas from now on is going to be a reminder of her losing her mum. Thankfully this is a strong family unit and she'll be well looked after, but I'm so sad for her," Gilby's nephew James Perkins, 28, said.
In a statement, the ambulance services apologised for the delay and said they were saddened by the tragic incident. 'We are sorry that our response took longer than we would have liked on this occasion. Lengthy waits for an ambulance are a sign of pressures across the whole unscheduled care system, not just in Wales but across the UK', they added.
 


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