[Margaret Pilkington]

The ambulance service in the past has been badly misused, almost like a taxi service.
It has meant that changes had to be made.
Also impact of waiting times in A&E departments has a knock on effect of when ambulances are available.
If an ambulance crew cannot hand over their patient to staff at the A&E dept, then that ambulance is out of service until they can hand over the patient.
Then there is the issue of ensuring that the ambluance is clean for the next patient, restocking of any items which have been used in the last 'call'.

Ambulances and ambulance personnel are much more technical than they once were.

My daughter has had to call on the ambulance service a couple of times in the last year.
I have nothing but praise and admiration for the lads and lasses that make up the backbone of this service - their care(kindness) and speed undoubtedly saved her life last April.

I know there are others who have not had the same experiences, when it goes wrong(for whatever reason) it can have tragic consequences. Even if the consequences aren't tragic, it is very difficult to see someone you care about in pain and waiting for help which doesn't come as quickly as you would hope.
In those situations, you have to address your concerns through the appropriate channels to get your complaint investigated.

When I worked in the NHS our complaints procedure was well defined.
A response had to be sent out to the complainant within two days of us receiving the complaint, and we had to specify in our response what we were going to do to investigate, a timeline had to be set for resolution and we would be strictly monitored on how the complaint was being handled......we were not allowed to 'drag our feet'.
Every organisation has its own policies, but they are usually along similar lines.
If you make a complaint, and hear nothing, then you need to phone and ask what the complaints procedure is.