Leg-op patient is left at wrong unit (From Asian Image)

Ambulance apology after driver said he could not take Bradford woman Sanika Hussain to right hospital wing

10:33am Wednesday 29th December 2010 in North of England news By Tanya O'Rourke

Sanika Hussain

Ambulance chiefs have apologised after a young woman was abandoned by a driver at the wrong part of a hospital only weeks after she underwent major surgery on her legs.

Sanika Hussain, who has a condition called hypochondroplasia – a form of dwarfism, made the decision to have leg-lengthening surgery after years of being bullied about her height.

Her legs were broken and pins were inserted to add extra inches to her 4ft 10in stature. She must wear frames around her legs for at least a year.

A month after her eight-hour operation she was due for a check-up at Leeds General Infirmary and had arranged transport from her home, in High Poplars, off Kings Road, Bradford, with Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Miss Hussain, 20, said she was dropped off at the hospital’s Martin Wing, a ten-minute walk from where her appointment was booked in the Clarendon Wing.

She said: “I said this is the wrong place and he said he was running ten minutes late and there was nothing he could do about it.

“We didn’t know where to go. My uncle helped me into the department.”

Miss Hussain, accompanied by her uncle Bobby Rashid, was given assistance by staff in the Martin Wing and she was loaned a wheelchair to make her own way to the other side of the hospital. She said: “It made me feel mad. It’s not our problem, it is his problem if he’s running late, he should have taken the time because that’s his job.

“It’s really frustrating not being able to walk much. I don’t need it really and I hope it doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

Mr Rashid said the pair’s protests about being left at the wrong wing were “completely ignored” by the driver.

Sarah Fatchett, Patient Transport Service operations director at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “We are committed to providing high-quality non-emergency transport to patients and would like to apologise once again to Miss Hussain for the distress caused. I have been in touch with Miss Hussain directly to discuss her specific concerns and we will be looking into the matter further and addressing the issues raised.”