A YOUNG girl in excruciating pain at school was forced to wait three hours for an ambulance.

Karen Kerridge, headteacher of Appleton School, slammed the ambulance service after Hannah Rowe, 13, was left waiting following a fall at the school during a break time.

She said: “It is disappointing when a child is in excruciating pain they have to endure a further three hours to wait for an ambulance.”

Sharon Rowe, 47, from Pitsea, is upset the service said her daughter was not a priority as she was conscious and breathing despite the level of pain.

Hannah Rowe, 13, injured her knee at Appleton School, Benfleet, after falling
Mrs Rowe said: “She was left laying on the concrete floor.

“The ambulance arrived at 5.50pm after she fell at 1.50pm.

“It had to come from Clacton and she was taken to Basildon Hospital for treatment. The staff at the hospital said they couldn’t believe what had happened.

“She couldn’t move and was in agony. How dare they say my daughter is not a priority.

“Children and the elderly should come first. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

A spokesman from the ambulance service said: “We always regret any distress caused when patients have to wait to be assessed and treated.

“At the time of this incident, we were experiencing a very high level of calls.

“More than half of the incidents we respond to every day are to people with serious or life-threatening conditions. We focus on our sickest patients first, and unfortunately at times of high demand that means that people with non-life threatening injuries can experience longer waits for an ambulance.

“When we have high numbers of calls, we will call patients back to check on their welfare and if their condition has changed. We understand that at this incident a nurse was at the scene with the patient who was able to advise us.”