THE mother of a York boy who broke his wrist in a cycle accident had to take him to hospital in a taxi after she was told no ambulance was available.

Lesley Lister contacted The Press after reading the story of 12-year-old Sam Gibson, who had to wait an hour for an ambulance, while his mother attempted to get home from work to take him to A&E by car.

Mrs Lister, of Monkton Road, said her son, Lewis, came home late on Friday evening after phoning her to say he thought he had injured his wrist.

Lewis, 12, had fallen off his bike in a nearby park and the injury happened when he tried to break his fall.

“When he got in, he had a big lump,” Mrs Lister said.

“When I phoned the ambulance they said it would be 60 minutes and would be an ambulance or response car. We were waiting, then my phone rang and it was NHS Direct to tell me they weren’t sending an ambulance but asked us about his injuries.

“They said I should get to A&E to get it checked out. I said I didn’t drive and I’m a single mum.

“They said I would have to get a taxi.”

Mrs Lister said she phoned for a taxi and eventually arrived at York Hospital at 2.30am.

She said: “When I got him to hospital they X-rayed him and said they would have to take him down to theatre and manipulate his injury back in to place.

“He didn’t go down to surgery until 10.30am and then they had to put a wire in his wrist.”

Now looking after her son at home, Mrs Lister said of the ambulance service: “It’s annoying.

“When they are kids, it makes it little bit harder to forgive.”

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “The Trust aims to provide a responsive, high-quality ambulance service to the people of Yorkshire and patient care remains our priority at all times.

“We are sorry to hear that Mrs Lister is not happy with the service she has received from Yorkshire Ambulance Service and would urge her to contact us directly to discuss her concerns.

“People calling 999 are asked a series of questions about the patient’s condition in order to determine the most appropriate response for their needs.

“This allows us to send help to those with life-threatening illnesses and injuries as a priority.

“If the information given in response to the questions indicates that the patient has less serious injuries, it may be appropriate to give them advice about alternatives to emergency ambulance assistance.”