A TERRIFIED woman says health officials should take another look at their diagnosis criteria after she was unable to get an ambulance quickly enough.

Inge Connor, who lives in Winsham, had to be rushed to hospital by her husband last week after suffering heart palpitations.

She says she was told by the operators at the South Western Ambulance Service that they were “too busy” to get somebody out to her for “some time”, but when she made her way to Yeovil District Hospital she was rushed into a specialist room for treatment.

The 59-year-old told The News she feels severely let down and has lodged a complaint with the ambulance service.

She said: “I went to bed last Sunday and started to develop severe palpitations, and was almost on the point of passing out.

“I tried to relax and hoped it would pass off because I never had problems like that before, but an hour later it was getting worse.

“We decided to call an ambulance, and I understand they have a list of criteria in order to decide who is a priority or not, and I told them what the situation was.

“I was told that ‘we are very busy at the moment’ and that it could be a long time before they could get someone out, which is apalling because obviously I was in a lot of discomfort and I needed to be treated immediately.

“We decided we had no option but to get my husband to drive me to hospital, which was really scary. If he wasn’t there I don’t know what I’d have done.

“When I got there I was rushed into the resuscitation room with a heart rate of 183 and high blood pressure before being transferred to the coronary care unit.

“It makes you wonder how bad do you have to be? We were both absolutely petrified.

“They need to look at the questions they’re asking and also use some common sense in terms of their assessment.

“I understand the pressures these services are under, but it’s worrying for anybody who’s ill or in need of emergency care.”

Mrs Connor pointed out that once she arrived at the hospital the care she received was “absolutely excellent”.

Last week, Yeovil District Hospital was put on ‘black alert’ with no beds available after a spike in patient demand.

A spokesman for the South Western Ambulance Service said: “A call was received at 01.08am on Monday, February 23, to a property in Winsham.

“A female was reporting feeling faint and dizzy with palpitations.

“An assessment was carried out by a member of staff in our clinical hub and a non-emergency ambulance was arranged to transport the patient to hospital.

“At 01.30am a second call was received from the patient’s husband, stating that he would drive the patient to hospital himself, so the nonemergency ambulance was cancelled.

“The South Western Ambulance Service will fully investigate any complaints received.”