EXCLUSIVE: Anger from Ayrshire mum unable to get ambulance for seriously injured daughter

An Ayrshire mum says she's been left angry and frustrated after she was unable to get an ambulance for her daughter who fell from her horse.

The accident happened in Edinburgh on Sunday 10 November, leaving eight year-old Nicole with serious injuries.

Mum, Debbie McCorkell from Monkton says, "The pony had just misjudged the fence and she went over. He then fell on top of her on the poles.

"I saw the pony get up and walk away and then looked back down and I saw Nicole lying there not moving.

Debbie continued, "At that point I panicked. I jumped the barrier and ran into the arena. When I got to her, I could see she was bleeding from the mouth and nose.

"An ambulance was called as soon as it happened. But it was about 45-50 minutes before someone arrived. The person who arrived was in a first response car. She looked at Nicole and said she wasn't equipped to deal with her injuries and that she never had any pain relief on her.

"She called for back up to then be told there was none available and we should take her in our own car. So that's what we did following behind her car.

"Nicole was in a state of shock and she was panicking, she was totally hyperventilating. She kept trying to stand up but fell back down. Her eyes were all over the place and she just looked horrendous. She wasn't speaking any sense either so I was worried she had a head injury.

"As the days go on, I'm furious about the response. I can't help but think we could have been dealing with a life and death situation, it's shocking."

A spokesman from the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Any unnecessary delay is unacceptable and we would like to apologise for any distress experienced. We would encourage the family to contact us so that we can investigate this matter further.”

Debbie told West FM News she plans to submit a formal complaint.

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