A woman was left permanently disabled after waiting nearly two hours for an ambulance. Susan Harding, 57, suffered from a life changing haemorrhagic stroke – meaning she had a bleed on the brain – at her home in Melksham, Wiltshire, and has since lost the use of the left side of her body.
Susan’s partner, Rob Christensen, 63, said her condition worsened in the time it took paramedics to come to their house – one hour and 59 minutes after the first 999 call was made. Rob claimed the wait caused extra bleeding and pressure on her brain, which could have been avoided.
The mum-of-two suffered her horrific stroke on December, 12 2024, while in the bathroom at home and has been in hospital since. She was initially put in an induced coma after doctors warned Rob she would need care for the rest of her life and she terrifyingly might never regain the use of the left side of her body.
Rob claimed the longer than promised ambulance wait – which is stated to be 30 minutes on average for category 2 emergencies – left Susan in her current state. He said: “If the ambulance had been sitting outside our house with the engine running, she still would have had that stroke, but all that extra bleeding and pressure on her brain, a lot of that wouldn’t have happened and she’s now going to be permanently disabled for the rest of her life.
“We’re supposed to act fast, and we got nothing from the emergency services. For the first time, I felt helpless, really helpless.” He added that he called several times for an update but claimed this made the delays “worse” because he was asked to explain everything from the beginning.
Her heartbroken partner recalled the terrifying day that changed the couple’s life for good. He said: “We had a normal day doing some Christmas shopping and when we got home Susan had asked me to go into the garage to sort some Christmas decorations.”
He added: “She had gone to the toilet, but five minutes later, she still hadn’t come out, and then I heard a thump against the bathroom door. I found Susan collapsed on the floor.”
Rob rushed to call 999 when he noticed Susan’s face had drooped on one side and her speech was slurred. He said: “At 16:59, I called it in, and they asked lots of questions – I told them she was having a stroke.” Rob added: “By 18:30, it still hadn’t turned up, so I called up again, and they went through the questions again.
“I was gobsmacked at the indifference. At 18:50, an emergency responder in a car turned up, and then the ambulance finally turned up almost two hours later at 18:58. It was 19:20 before she was finally taken to hospital – by then, the damage was done.”
Susan was taken 14.5 miles to the RUH in Bath and Rob says other than being busy, South Western Ambulance Service has given no other reason for the delay. She was transferred to Southmead Hospital in Bristol – where she remained in an induced coma for nearly four weeks.
The mother-of-two had surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain and she was eventually moved to a local hospital in Chippenham for rehab physio in March. Rob said the ordeal made him “angry” as “it feels like our lives have come to an end”. He said: “I’m going to be caring for someone that basically isn’t there – she can’t remember things that happened 15 minutes ago.”
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust apologised to Susan and said the delay was “unacceptable”.
A statement added: “At the time of Ms Harding becoming unwell in December 2024, our service was under extreme pressure, and our response time was impacted by this. This demand was further compounded by hospital handover delays and system pressures within the wider NHS and social care.”
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