A PENSIONER who suffered two breaks in her arm after falling over was left waiting 16 hours for an ambulance to take her to hospital – before her family gave up waiting and drove her to A&E themselves.

Cheryl Eaton, 73, fell over in her flat in Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, breaking her humerus and left wrist.

After her 71-year-old husband, Maurice, phoned an ambulance at 5.45pm in the evening, he was told to expect a ten-hour wait before emergency services arrived.

After Mrs Eaton spent the night in excruciating pain, there was still no sign of ambulance by 10am the following morning – meaning Mr and Mrs Eaton’s daughter ended up driving her to Colchester Hospital instead.

Mr Eaton explained that as long as his wife had to wait, he laid no blame on the ambulance service for the delay in attending to his wife.

He said: “We’ve spent a lifetime paying into the health system and now we can’t use it because of what the Conservatives have done.

“The ambulance service was most apologetic, and I sympathise with them because what is happening is not their doing – it’s the fault of the Government.

“She had been looking after me [before this happened] – now I’m looking after her.”

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Mr Eaton explained after waiting all night for an ambulance, his daughter took matters into her own hands and drove Mrs Eaton to the A&E department herself , such was the pain her mother was suffering.

“We got to the following morning when we manoeuvred her off the floor – she had not had a good night.

“My daughter has some nursing experience as she used to be a palliative nurse – when she saw my wife, she said she had to go to hospital.

“She was in a tremendous amount of pain – but the staff in A&E were absolutely wonderful to her.”

The two have been told that it will take up to six weeks for Mrs Eaton to recover from the two fractures.

“It’s very tricky but it’s part of what life is,” Mr Eaton said.