A YORK parish councillor has told how he waited with a friend in A&E for eight hours for a bed to become available on Christmas Day.

Cllr Roger Bedford, of Osbaldwick, said staff were superb despite the pressures.

He said: "I could not help but notice the tremendous dedication of the staff , who, it seemed to me, though barely having time to grab a drink... showed angelic stoicism in the face of the never ending and ever increasing stream of people requiring their most intense attention and help.

"It appeared to me this was a group of workers who were at the very edge of what they could realistically be expected to cope with, especially when considering the incredibly high standards of which they and the population have come to expect of them."

Cllr Bedford questioned how the proposed York Local Plan to build more than 20,000 new houses in York would impact A&E.

Meanwhile, a passer-by who helped an elderly woman who had fallen in the street has told how firefighters decided it would be quicker to take her to hospital in a fire engine than wait for an ambulance.

As The Press revealed on Tuesday, the fire crew had to stand in due to ambulance delays.

Jo Thompson, 44, said she was was driving along Acorn Way in Woodthorpe last Friday when she saw the woman, who had suffered facial injuries, lying on the ground.

Another passerby called for an ambulance and some ten minutes later a passing fire engine stopped to help.

Ms Thompson said: " The fire engine came and they said they would ring up and ask about the ambulance. They came back and said there wasn't one available.

"They tried to clean the cut up and lifted her up from the ground. She had to climb up to get in the fire engine."

Ms Thompson said she was shocked by the apparent response of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS).

A fire service spokeswoman confirmed: "The fire crew provided first aid and as the ambulance service were extremely busy, the fire crew transported the lady to York District Hospital to be treated."

However, YAS said the firefighters "made the decision to transport the patient to hospital" and that "whilst it was a busy period" help was being arranged for the patient.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has struggled with an unprecedented number of calls over Christmas and into the New Year and earlier this week a paramedic told how crews were left waiting for hours at York Hospital for beds to become free for patients.

The woman is now understood to be recovering well at home.

Elsewhere, a woman has told of confusion as patients were moved into a previously mothballed ward at Malton Hospital to relieve pressure on Scarborough Hospital. She asked not to be named but said staff were left without key equipment and in confusion over patient records on the first day of the move.

However, she said staff had reassured patients any problems would soon be smoothed out.


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