SIR,

As a retired NHS professional, I have been watching with considerable interest to see if any public comment would be forthcoming from the Welsh Ambulance Trust (WAT), which carries the relevant executive powers with regard to the case of one of Monmouth's senior citizens, which was reported in the Monmouthshire Beacon on 9th Februry 2011.

The event recorded was that of a lady in her mid-seventies who is registered blind, and who was on the floor of her house for a good five hours in a great deal of pain in her leg. This eventually proved to be caused by a fractured hip.

She was waiting for an ambulance, following not only a request from her husband, but also by the paramedic in attendance, who must have emphasised the seriousness of the patient's condition as he had to resort to the powerful, pain-relief drug Morphine.

Although this case has been brought to the attention of the WAT, there has been no public comment to date from this source.

I think it is only proper that this case should now be brought to the attention of Edwina Hart, Assembly Minister for health, who is responsible for funding this service.

It is important that in Monmouth, a part of the county which is at the periphery of Wales, that we are informed as to whether such delays are due to inadequate funding by the assembly to the ambulance trust, the provider of the service, or if the problem lies in shortcomings of the trust management; that they are unable to provide ambulance support within the accepted criteria of nine minutes from the time of receipt of a request for the service in such urgent cases.

This letter is being copied to Edwina Hart AM for her personal urgent consideration and she is being advised that any reply I receive will be published in the Beacon for people to evaluate.

On a personal note, as a retired senior professional of the Welsh Health Service, I sincerely hope that human life is still sacrosanct, even though at present we are driven by national austerity measures which I sincerely hope do not encompass our patient care in Wales in such cases.

Dr MS Matharu OBE

(Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Gwent Health Authority, retired)