A father has raised concerns over ambulance response times after his son slipped into diabetic shock.

Ron Harris’s partner was told they would have to wait for 45 minutes for an ambulance despite his son collapsing a 'five minute walk' from the Whipps Cross Hospital.

On Tuesday (March 17) Mr Harris's son Danny collapsed on the way to collect his children from school in Essex Road at 3pm.

Mr Harris, 52 of Wood Street, describes the frantic rush to get to his son who is an insulin dependent diabetic.

He found Danny in the street in a ‘bad way’ at the point of falling unconscious as his blood sugar levels ran dangerously low.

Mr Harris loaded him into his van and attempted to get him to the nearest 'safe place', a sweet shop, to get him urgently needed sugar.

Traffic in the area and one-way streets badly hampered the emergency journey which Mr Harris took with his other son driving.

Fortunately, Ron, who has dealt with his son's condition for 25 years, knew exactly what to do giving him 22 teaspoons of sugar and Lucuozade in the back of the van.

Danny, 37 of Wood Street, fortunately fully recovered.

But Mr Harris described the ambulances explanation that it would take 45 minutes to reach him as ‘unacceptable’.

He said: “My point in all of this is my son was not a five minute walk from the hospital.

“Just by sheer luck my other son had popped in for a cup of tea, so we managed to jump in to his van and pick him up.

"If we had been any later he could of died or the very least slipped into a coma.

"My other son Bradley was driving and I was filling him up with Lucuozade and sugar solution in the back.

"I'm relieved that he is ok but worried for my daughter who is about to have her fourth baby.

“I think you will agree a 45 minute wait is really not acceptable.”

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