Woman had to strap granddad to WOODEN PLANK and drive him to hospital

Instead she had to strap him to a wooden plank and take him to hospital in a van When Ms Lea rang 999 she was told 'no ambulances' were available to come He was found by his granddaughter, Nicole Lea, after his lifeline alarm went off A woman says she was forced to strap her grandfather to a plank of wood and drive him to hospital in the back of a van as there were no ambulances available after he fell and broke his hip. Nicole Lea, pictured here with her grandfather Melvyn Ryan, was left aghast after being told no ambulances would come to help him after he fell and broke his hip Ms Lea had to strap her grandfather, pictured here after being admitted, to a plank of wood and take him to hospital in the back of a van Instead the call handler reportedly told Nicole to ring an out-of-hours GP and book a taxi to transport the pensioner to hospital, before hanging up in order to 'answer other calls'. 'I couldn't really believe what I was being told,' said Ms Lea, who's been Melvyn's principal carer since he lost his wife Maureen to Covid in 2020. Pictured: Ms Lea with Melvyn and her late grandmother Maureen before she passed away from Covid in 2020 'It's only because of teamwork, brainstorming and quick thinking that the three of us managed to get grandad - an army veteran - to the Grange University Hospital within a couple of hours.'