MEMBERS of a community are calling for a better ambulance service after a teenager waited two hours for assistance following a 15-ft plunge.

Charlie Emslie, of Munroe Avenue, Millom, injured his leg after he jumped off the old sea wall last Wednesday while out with his friends.

After landing in shallow water, the 15-year-old had to wait two hours for an ambulance to come from Ulverston, as the vehicle stationed in Millom was called to a more serious incident.

Millom town councillor Felicity Wilson praised the ambulance staff in the town but said more support for the community was needed.

She said: "We have a wonderful ambulance station with great paramedics but they can be called out and sent anywhere. They are not specific to Millom and Millom's needs.

"The Millom team knows the area but if they're not available we need to wait for someone from Barrow or Ulverston, who doesn't know the area, so we've got that waiting time which is doubled by the time it takes them to get to hospital.

"It's not satisfactory for the needs of the community."


Copeland MP Jamie Reed has also spoken out about the need for improvement, saying it is "unacceptable" to wait so long.

He said: “It is unacceptable that anyone should wait for two hours for an ambulance in Millom. I am very concerned to hear that this has happened, and I send my sincere best wishes for a full recovery to the young man affected.

“I am clear that government must take full responsibility for incidents of this kind. Staff at the North West Ambulance Service work incredibly hard under increasing pressures and tightening budgets. In fact, the number of 999 calls to the North West Ambulance Service has increased by 25 per cent in the past year.

“I will be writing to the Secretary of State for Health, urging him to intervene to provide the North West Ambulance Service with the resources it needs to improve response times to rural locations across my constituency, including in Millom.”

With only one ambulance stationed in the town itself, any delay could have a life-threatening effect so members of the community are being urged to think twice before calling 999.

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We offer our apologies to the patient as we understand waiting for an ambulance can be a distressing time.

“The trust receives more than 3,500 emergency calls a day and the details given by 999 callers enable us to prioritise incidents so that patients with an immediate threat to life, such as for cardiac arrests, difficulty breathing and strokes, are responded to first.

“Rural locations are a challenge for our ambulance crews and through our ‘Make The Right Call’ campaign we encourage people to think twice before calling 999 and to consider alternative options for minor illness and injuries, so that ambulances are then kept free for those who are most in need.”

Despite the long wait, Charlie's mother Jeanette had nothing but the highest of praise for the emergency services and is eager to pass on her gratitude.

She said: "We can't thank the emergency services enough. Everyone who was involved were great.

"I never got chance to thank everyone personally so I would like to send out a big thank you to all. I've no idea what we would've done without them."