Apology Issued After 10-Hour Ambulance Wait for 74-Year-Old

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has issued an apology after a 74-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease waited 10 hours for emergency medical assistance following a fall at her home.

Irene Lowry suffered a broken shoulder during the incident on April 14, 2026. Her daughter, Julie Mayo, reported that her mother was left in extreme agony on the floor for the duration of the wait.

Timeline of the Incident

The incident began on April 14, 2026, when Ms. Lowry fell at her home at approximately 15:00 BST. Julie Mayo contacted the ambulance service for help at about 15:25 BST.

Mayo described her mother as being in extreme agony and screaming due to her broken bones. Despite repeated calls to the ambulance service in desperation, Mayo was informed that the service could not provide a specific time frame for when an ambulance would arrive.

In an attempt to secure interim pain relief for her mother, Mayo contacted a local GP. However, she was told that her mother would have to wait for the ambulance service to arrive.

Mayo made another plea to the ambulance service at 18:00 BST on April 14, 2026. While the service upgraded the call priority, they were still unable to provide an estimated arrival time.

NIAS Response and Systemic Pressures

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service acknowledged the failure to provide a timely response and apologized for the delay.

We would have liked to have provided a much quicker response but were prevented from doing so because of circumstances beyond our control

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

The NIAS stated that the service is currently operating under high levels of pressure, which has hindered its ability to respond to emergency calls. The agency attributed these delays to two primary factors:

• Delayed hospital handovers
• Reduced ambulance availability

Julie Mayo expressed her distress over the situation during an appearance on The Nolan Show on April 16, 2026, stating, It’s just awful, it was just horrendous to hear your mother lying screaming and yelling out for help and asserting that the situation should never happen.

Broader Public Health Concerns

The delay in Ms. Lowry’s care comes amid wider concerns regarding the stability of health services in the region. Reports indicate that budget uncertainty is currently threatening health services with major cuts.

This incident is not an isolated case of extreme wait times for emergency care in Northern Ireland. On January 12, 2026, it was reported that a 75-year-old woman with motor neurone disease waited nearly 30 hours for an ambulance after falling at her home in Portadown.