Pensioner who fell in Falkirk flats had to wait for five hours for ambulance

The 70-year-old fell inside Corentin Court at around 1pm on Friday, January 31.

A woman who was passing by found him on the ground and was able to hoist the man onto a chair with the help of another tenant and call for an ambulance.

However, the man was then forced to wait — in the unheated foyer area of the block of flats, which mainly houses the elderly — for several hours as an operator for the emergency service explained to the woman who had come to his aid it was “very busy”.

One resident told The Falkirk Herald: “She phoned again an hour later.

“Some time after that she received a call, explaining how very busy the service was at this time.

“At 5pm the lady phoned again and was told he had been moved to the top of the list. The ambulance arrived just before 6pm.”

The SAS has since provided confirmation of the reason for the delay.

A spokesman said: “We are very sorry for the delay in responding to this patient; we were experiencing high demand at the time.

“We will be contacting the patient to apologise and investigate the issue further.”

The incident in Corentin Court came just days before the ambulance service asked social media users to share their views on the ways in which they would like to see the SAS being run over the next ten years.

Its tweet read: “We are looking for your help and feedback in shaping our services over the next decade.

“What you would like to see from @Scotambservice? Watch this short clip for further information, #2030 strategy youtu.be/MLaPujsyJhg.”