A grandmother passed away after a harrowing four-hour wait in an ambulance outside a hospital, before collapsing in the toilet shortly after being admitted. Christina Chisholm, 91, was rushed to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on December 8, 2025, due to breathing difficulties exacerbated by a viral infection.
Christina, who had been suffering from breathlessness, had seen a GP the previous evening, who advised her on using an inhaler to alleviate her symptoms. However, her condition worsened overnight, prompting her daughters, Elizabeth McDonald and Grace Chisholm, to call for an ambulance. Although Christina was initially reluctant, she eventually agreed to go to the hospital.
Wait in Ambulance Contributes to Death
The ambulance arrived at Raigmore shortly after 11pm, but Christina and her family were informed that they would face a lengthy wait to be admitted, as three other ambulances were ahead. Elizabeth described the situation as increasingly difficult for her mother, who became claustrophobic from the oxygen mask and the confinement of the ambulance.
At around 3:30am, a nurse checked on Christina for the first time, but it wasn’t until around 4am that Christina requested to go to the toilet. A paramedic assisted her to the restroom, where, moments later, Elizabeth and Grace were summoned. They were told that Christina’s heart had stopped and she was in resuscitation. She passed away shortly thereafter.
Afterward, the family was told by a hospital consultant that Christina’s death could be attributed to the prolonged wait and lack of immediate care, specifically the failure to administer oxygen when she was taken to the toilet. The delay in her admission, the consultant explained, could have been the critical factor that led to her demise.
The official cause of death was determined to be Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which had been complicated by COPD, a condition Christina had but was not actively treated for. The family has expressed frustration that Christina was not informed about the wait times, and they believe she would have made a different choice if she had known the full extent of the delay.
In a statement, Elizabeth said: “We believe that if Mum had known she’d be waiting so long, she wouldn’t have gone to the hospital. She was always clear about what she wanted.”
The incident is now under investigation by the procurator fiscal, and the family continues to advocate for changes in hospital admission procedures, particularly in emergency care settings. They are also calling attention to what they perceive as systemic issues, such as the overburdening of paramedics who are expected to wait for long periods outside hospitals, a situation Elizabeth described as “not right.”
As the family continues to grieve, they hope to raise awareness of these critical gaps in the healthcare system to ensure that others do not endure the same fate.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has expressed condolences, and NHS Highland has reiterated its sympathy, stating that they encourage the family to contact them directly to discuss the case further. However, due to patient confidentiality, the health authority has declined to comment publicly on individual circumstances.
