Mum’s anger after she rang 999 when her Down’s Syndrome tot was choking and she was put on HOLD
Kirsty Graves rang for help after her 13-month old son started choking on a small piece of plastic
A MUM has blasted a 999 call centre after ringing for an ambulance for her choking baby – and being put on HOLD.
Kirsty Graves, of Battle, West Sussex, rang for help after her 13-month old son Reggie Breach, who has Down's Syndrome, started choking on a small piece of plastic.
The mum-of-four said: “I have never heard of anyone being put on hold on 999 before, ever. I’m not the sort of person who panics easily.
“But when I was put on hold, I started to panic. By that time he was blue and was not breathing.
“It was a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Even a minute in my opinion is too long to be put on hold.”
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Kirsty called the emergency services after her, her husband and Reggie’s grandmother, a former nurse, failed to dislodge the plastic.
When she was asked to hold, in desperation, Kirsty put her fingers down Reggie’s throat, making him vomit, dislodging the plastic.
Luckily Reggie is none the worse for his ordeal.
Kirsty said: “We took him to the hospital afterwards because he was spitting up blood. His throat is a bit scratched up but he’s OK.”
Kirsty says she intends to complain about the incident.
A spokesperson for South East Coast Ambulance Service said: “We are very sorry for the distress caused by the delay in answering Ms Graves’ call for her son.
"We would be happy to discuss this matter further with her directly should she wish to do so.
“We aim to answer 95 percent of calls within five seconds and answer the huge majority of calls we receive without delay.
“We would like to remind callers that if they do face any delay in their call being answered they should not hang up as we will answer their call in order they are received."