Woman waited hours for ambulance after cancer diagnosis

A woman who was told she had months to live was stuck on her own in hospital for four hours waiting for a private ambulance to take her home.

Myra Hayes, 42, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, said she felt "trapped" while she waited alone after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The contractor responsible, Arriva Transport Solutions, has been criticised for a "continuing and significant failure of service".

The company has apologised.

Mrs Hayes was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer at Bristol Royal Infirmary on Thursday.

She said: "I felt trapped and by myself dealing with horrible information wanting to be home and I couldn't get there. I was relying on Arriva."

While stuck at the hospital, she contacted the contractor and told them: "All I want to do is get home so I can be with my friends and my family. I don't want to be stuck here and you're making it worse."

The company has been accused of failure by Wiltshire's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which sets targets for carrying non-emergency patients, some of which have not been met.

One key performance target set by the CCG states that Arriva should collect patients within an hour of a request.

Arriva managing director Ed Potter apologised and said the company "recognises" that some patients wait longer than they should.

"This is a challenge in patient transport that is not just experienced in Wiltshire but across the country," he said.

He added that Arriva is "always committed to future change" and "striving for further improvement".

"We really do need some progressive dialogue and a willingness to embrace some change in the way that patient transport is organised."

Lucy Baker of Wiltshire's Clinical Commissioning Group said it is "really concerned about the experience of our patients" and is "working closely" with Arriva to improve the service.

"Patients are waiting longer than we would wish for either transport to pick them up or to collect them from their hospital appointments. What we don't want to do is add to their concerns or worries."

She added: "We've provided additional funding to help improve the service."