Mother’s anger at ‘no show’ by EMAS

Rebecca Turton was enjoying a day in the sunshine on Carr Bank Park on Thursday 24th of July with her eight-year-old daughter Kirstie and other family members when the little girl collapsed.

But when Rebecca (27) of Blake Crescent, dialled 999 she was told by control room staff that no ambulance would be coming and was taken to King’s Mill Hospital by a ‘good samaritan’, she said.

The mother-of-four said no explanation was given why paramedics were not dispatched, but she has now made a formal complaint to bosses at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS).

She told Chad: “I’d gone to the park with some relatives and their children and the kids were all off playing when suddenly my sister came running over and said that Kirstie had collapsed.

“At first they said they would ring me back in an hour to see how she was doing, and when I asked them if they were sending an ambulance they said that they weren’t.

“It was a really terrifying experience and when Kirstie has a seizure she really needs medical care and they just didn’t seem to take it seriously.

“In the end a lady came to our help and drove us to the hospital - otherwise I don’t know what I’d have done because we didn’t have transport to get her there and she was really dazed and confused after she came round.”

Doctors believe Kirstie may be suffering from epilepsy after suffering a total of 19 fits since she was one, and is due to meet with specialists at King’s Mill, Rebecca said.

It is the latest in a long list of blunders by the beleaguered ambulance service after a spate of high profile blunders.

Two weeks ago, Chad reported how Mansfield husband Keith Henson, of Heanor Walk, had to spend 40 minutes performing life-saving CPR on his wife Linda when she suffered a major heart attack, when paramedics could not find their house.

An ambulance service spokesman told Chad: “It would appear that the service experienced by Ms Turton and her daughter was not to the standard expected, and if this is the case then we are very sorry.

“We have written to her to confirm we’re looking into what happened and as soon as we know the facts, we will be in touch with her direct to let her know our findings.”