THE ambulance service has apologised to a grandmother who was left on a golf course with a broken arm for nearly 90 minutes before paramedics arrived.
Maria Timson fractured her arm at Mapperley Golf Club when she fell over at the ninth hole while chasing a runaway golf buggy.
East Midlands Ambulance Service has written to the 63-year-old to apologise, saying it happened on a busy weekend when paramedics were out responding to other emergency calls.
But Mrs Timson, who is now recovering at home, says she wants more to be done to make sure it does not happen to anyone else.
She said: "I feel as though I was neglected – I didn't even get a paramedic in a first response car. I am not after any compensation but I do believe they will put somebody's life in danger."
The grandmother-of-four, from Eagle Court in Bulwell, had been playing golf on Sunday September 7 when her golf cart began to roll away, so she chased it and slipped.
She said: "I passed out and when I came round my playing partner said 'whatever you do don't move'."
"It's hard to stay still on a cold floor for so long. I was shaking – I was very cold."
The first 999 call was first made at 3.07pm by a friend. It was classed by call handlers as "Green 2" – serious, but not life threatening and an ambulance should be with the patient within 30 minutes.
A second 999 call was made nearly an hour later, at 4.02pm. Staff apologised for the delay.
Friend Mandy Papworth, 50, Prospect Road, Carlton, was with her at the time.
She said: "It seemed like she was going into some sort of shock I got someone from the club to get a blanket."
An ambulance with two medics finally arrived at 4.36pm and she was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre.
She was discharged the following day in a cast.
EMAS said that at the time of the incident only 23 crews were available in a 20-mile radius.
An EMAS spokesman said: "We investigated Mrs Timson's complaint fully and wrote to her giving an honest and factual account of why the delay happened.
"The investigation showed there were no mistakes made in the handling of the 999 call but we were not able to respond sooner because we were experiencing a high demand in 999 calls.
"Our letter also offered Mrs Timson a full apology for the distress she experienced because we accept our response was not to the high standards our patients should expect."
