Bury St Edmunds PCSO Mark Ellis praised for rescuing injured pensioner from 20 hour ambulance wait after fall outside EE

A Bury St Edmunds PCSO has been praised as an ‘angel’ after coming to the rescue of a pensioner badly injured in a fall who faced a wait for an ambulance of up to 20 hours.

Sue Petts, a resident at Montana Care Home, in Great Barton, fell outside EE in Buttermarket at about 2.30pm on Monday.

Sister Superior Thaya Moses, manager of the home, said when 999 was called they were told there would be a long wait for medical assistance.

She added: “Fortunately many people, including two retired nurses and the people from the EE and Card Factory shops, came to help us, they were all so kind.

“That wait was far too long for Sue to be there, that was not good at all but luckily God sent an angel.”

That came in the guise of former West Suffolk constable and one of two town council-funded Police Community Support Officers Mark Ellis.

The ex-police officer of more than 30 years said he was driving his van down Buttermarket, when he was hailed down by members of the public.

He said: “They had helped the lady into a chair by then and had her right arm in a sling. Although it was not hot she could not have been left there for around 20 hours.

“So I decided I should take her to A&E in the van, as it is as big as an ambulance, and though she was very mobile, people helped her in and off we went.”

Little did Mark and Sister Moses know at the time, but Sue had broken her elbow and dislocated her shoulder.

On Tuesday, Sister Moses said the pensioner was still at West Suffolk Hospital waiting for a bed.

She said: “Sue will need an operation. I would just like to thank all the people, God bless them all, from the shop workers, the retired nurses and the girls and boys and the policeman who helped us.”

Told that he had been described as an angel by the Sister Superior, Mark said: “I am humbled that I was talked about in that light, but I was just a glorified taxi driver.

“It was the members of the public that did the hard work”

Asked if he would visit Sue once she was out of hospital, he added: "Absolutely. I said to her I used to live around the corner from the home, so it would be nice to visit.”

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said it was experiencing an extremely high demand on the service and that handover delays at hospitals were also continuing to have an impact to reach patients as it would like.

Adding: “As this patient’s condition was not life-threatening, the police were able to safely transport her to hospital to minimise her wait.

“We would like to apologise for any distress that this incident may have caused to the patient and would encourage her to contact us directly if she would like to discuss this further.

“We are doing everything we can to balance operational pressures with the need to get to patients as quickly as possible and we truly appreciate the support of local communities in helping us prioritise our efforts.”