A BEST man had to wait 90 minutes for an ambulance to arrive after being in a car crash on his way to the wedding.

Bride Lucy Sly and groom James Gerrard tied the knot in Coleshill, near Faringdon, as friends and family waited for paramedics to reach the crash scene three miles away.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) has apologised but now been ordered to carry out a full inquiry on the incident by Oxfordshire County Council.

SCAS has a statutory responsibility to ensure ambulances reach 95 per cent of the most serious calls within 19 minutes.

Our top stories

But friends and family at the wedding said the incident was a damning example of response times in rural areas such as Faringdon.

The crash happened when four men, including Mr Gerrard, best man Christian Connolly, an usher and Mr Connolly’s father, were travelling to All Saints Church, Coleshill, on April 26.

As they drove along Snowswick Lane – between Buscot and Coleshill – the car went into a hedge, demolished a telegraph pole and rolled over, blocking the road.

Janis Hall, 66, was on her way to the wedding to assist the vicar when she came across the scene.

Bicester Advertiser:

Lucy and James Gerrard

The retired teacher said: “I could see four men – James, Christian, Christian’s father and another man. Christian had blood on his face. I got out and asked what I could do to help.”

It later transpired, Mrs Hall said, that best man Mr Connolly, 29, had sustained a fractured skull, spinal injury and broken shoulder.

She added: “Incredibly, James [the groom] was almost unscathed and so we sent him away in another car.”

A SCAS spokeswoman said a call was received at 1.48pm. A first responder arrived in about five minutes, Mrs Hall said, and requested three ambulances “He was amazing, but even though he was on his radio very quickly we had to wait an hour for the first ambulance, which took the friend with breathing problems.

“We then waited another half an hour for the next ambulance, which took Christian [the best man] away and then another came for his father.”

Mr Connolly was taken to the Great Western Hospital, in Swindon, but was later transferred to Frenchay Hospital, in Bristol.”

The grandmother-of-three said: “It is all very worrying. If something happens like this you expect to be able to get to a hospital as soon as possible.

“I have been appalled by the amublance service’s response. They do not seem to have acknowledged that there has been a problem here.”

While the injured were waiting at the scene, the groom was taken to a nearby pub in Coleshill to calm his nerves.

His bride and her maid of honour were told the injuries were less serious than they were to prevent panic and the ceremony continued.

However, as the rings were in the crashed car, volunteers were sent to retrieve them.

The bride, 28, said: “I didn’t really understand what had happened or that James had been in the car until I was standing next to him in the church and saw a cut on his hand. People kept telling me he was fine.

“The ceremony had a very sombre feeling, because everyone’s thoughts were with the people who couldn’t be there. The amount of time it took the ambulance to arrive is ridiculous.”

Her mum, Carol, added: “I think it put a cloud over the whole thing for everyone. People in this area know the problems the ambulances have.”

Last night SCAS spokeswoman Catherine Morrow said an investigation had already been conducted.

She said: “At the time we were notified of the incident, we were experiencing a high level of demand for emergency responses and unfortunately there was a delay in SCAS sending additional resources to assess, treat and convey the patients to hospital.

“We are sorry that on this occasion the service that we aim to achieve was not of the standard we set ourselves and strive to deliver for every patient.”

On Thursday, county council joint health overview and scrutiny committee chairman Yvonne Constance told ambulance bosses: “We really do have to ask SCAS what it has learnt.

“We do not accept that Faringdon should be considered a remote area. Something went terribly wrong.

“We expect to hear back from you before April about this.”

 

 

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.