A great grandmother has received an apology from the NHS after sharing an ambulance with a dog when paramedics rescued it on the way to hospital.
Brenda Wilding, 86, called 999 with severe stomach pain relating to a
gallbladder condition and two paramedics rushed to her house.
They loaded her into the back of the ambulance and began their journey to hospital.
But the pensioner was left "vomiting in the back of the ambulance" and in a "great deal of pain" when the driver suddenly stopped to shoo a dog from the road.
The medics ended up rescuing the black Labrador on the A10, Cambridgeshire, leaving Brenda baffled.
Paramedics insisted the gran-of-four was happy with it because she had an 'interest' in dogs - after they spotted dog ornaments in her home when they picked her up.
She was dropped at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridgeshire and discharged three days later - but her family are furious at the "breech of health and safety" rules.
Brenda's granddaughter Justine Butcher, 46, of Littlefort, Cambridgeshire, slammed the arrangement, on November 12, as "not sanitary".
She said: "My nan might like dog ornaments but that doesn't mean she wants to share an ambulance with a live one when she's sick and vulnerable.
"She could have gotten seriously infected.
"She was vomiting in the ambulance and the paramedic had one hand on the dog trying to keep it from jumping at her. To me, that is not sanitary."
In a letter of apology, Dr T Davis of East of England Ambulance said the paramedics "understand their actions were not compliant with Trust guidelines".
He said the dog was later reunited with its owner.
But Justine, a medically-retired NHS nurse, said: "It sounds like they're treating the whole thing as a joke. Nan's still in shock."
Brenda dialled 999 at about 4pm on November 12 after doubling over with pain.
Two paramedics arrived to put her in the back of an ambulance where they concluded her condition was 'not time-critical' as they began their journey to hospital.
She explained: "I couldn't see much of what was going on but I couldn't understand what was taking so long.
"I was left in the ambulance and could hear people talking about a dog.
"The next thing I knew the paramedic who'd been riding in the back of the ambulance with me appeared with a black Labrador behind him and asked if I minded if the dog came too.
"I was completely baffled. It's not what you expect in a medical environment, but I agreed. All I wanted to do was get to hospital."
The paramedics continued the journey to Addenbrooke's and Brenda claims the dog 'was hyper and tried to jump at her' while she lay in the back.
She said: "The paramedic put a whiteboard between me and the dog and held the Labrador away so it couldn't get at me.
"I had no idea what was going on."
After she was dropped at hospital, Brenda told Justine what had happened.
Justine said: "Nan told me she'd shared an ambulance with a wet dog and at first we thought she must have got confused.
"But she kept saying it over and over so I contacted East of England Ambulance Service to demand an investigation."
Brenda was kept in hospital for three days, and tells how she 'remained shaken' after her ambulance journey.
On December 21, Justine received a letter in which Dr T Davis, Deputy Medical Director admitted the actions of the paramedics did not align with Trust guidelines.
He also apologised for any "distress" caused and outlined the paramedics' response.
In their account of events, the paramedics stated the dog was 'friendly, non-aggressive and quite clearly cold, wet and distressed' when they discovered it.
They claimed Brenda "smiled" when she saw the dog and said "she had an interest in dogs, something that was quite prominent given the number of dog ornaments in her property".
"One of the crew members asked […] if it was ok for the dog to come into the warmth, whilst they made some phone calls to get it help. The patient accepted.Dr Davis added: "The paramedics would like to state that the actions of the night were solely theirs and accepts the reasonable consequences of their actions."
But Justine has slammed the apology as "insufficient and laughable".
She fumed: "I couldn't believe what I was reading, it felt like they weren't taking us seriously.
"How dare they make a decision based on the fact she had a few ornaments in her house.
"Ambulances are supposed to be sanitary places and Nan could have had any number of infections when they let that dog in.
"Nan was vulnerable and in their care - she should have been their top priority.
"It infuriates me that the NHS have said there's a shortage of ambulances and paramedics but these two found the time and resources to stop for a dog."
A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: "We would like to apologise to Brenda and her family for any distress and inconvenience caused.
"The incident has been investigated and the staff involved understand that their actions were against Trust guidelines and now understand there is no legal responsibility to stop for a domestic dog, even if it is in danger."
Source: Mirror
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