Pensioner, 69, left ‘moaning in agony’ during 10 HOUR wait for ambulance after tripping on pavement

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Appalling ambulance wait times have been revealed as a pensioner was left lying on a pavement in excruciating pain for more than 10 hours while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. 

Patients have told their stories of agonising waits for ambulances as NHS England admitted it is struggling to cope after the number of staff off sick due to Covid has doubled in the past three weeks – while there are a ‘high number’ of patients in hospital.

This is not just affecting England with the Welsh Ambulance being hit by ‘very high demand’ for ambulances as it faces ‘extensive hospital handover delays’ causing some patients to wait hours in ‘agony’.

One of the unlucky ones, Emlyn Roberts, 69, was left ‘moaning in agony’ on the ground of a town centre in North Wales after he tripped and suffered ‘serious injuries’.

Members of the public phoned an ambulance for him immediately but he had to wait 10 hours for one to show up.

It comes as dozens of others across the country have reported ‘horrendous’ waiting times, with the Liberal Democrats describing the ambulance services as being at ‘breaking point’.

Sylvia Jackson revealed on Twitter how she phoned for an ambulance after her 86-year-old neighbour collapsed and was told it could take 20 hours.

While Sarah Rennie, who found herself lying on her bathroom floor in a pool of blood, said she faced a 12 hour wait.

Members of the public, found Mr Roberts in the town centre of Colwyn Bay, North Wales, at around 12.30pm on March 29.

He was complaining of pain in his hip, immediately phoned for an ambulance but were told to expect delays.

Mr Roberts’ sister-in-law, Lynn Roberts, said an ambulance finally arrived just before 11pm, at which point he had been on the ground for more than ten hours.  

Ms Roberts said of her brother-in-law’s ordeal: ‘He was left for ten hours lying on the concrete, you can forgive a couple of hours, even a few hours if necessary, but ten hours is just not acceptable.’ 

Among those who stopped to help was an off-duty volunteer first responder, who stayed by Mr Roberts’ side until the ambulance came.

Ms Roberts said local businesses and passers-by showed ‘incredible kindness’, bringing blankets and hot water bottles to keep them warm as day turned to night.

She recalled: ‘He’d been waiting for hours and the first responder had been phoning the ambulance people for updates but he was politely told to stop phoning. 

‘It was at that point I did get quite irate because my brother-in-law was lying on the floor, moaning in agony, and I couldn’t do anything to help him.

‘I spoke to someone and she said ‘you’ll just have to wait, we’re doing what we can’. I said to her, ten hours is ridiculous.’

She added: ‘We could’ve got him there much quicker ourselves but we didn’t want to risk moving him by lifting him into the car in case there was untold damage. 

‘But I’ve got to say, the people of Colwyn Bay were incredible.

‘The passers-by and shopkeepers were wishing him well, phoning ambulances, they were amazing. 

‘A member of the public had phoned the fire service and they came out too, and they did a marvellous job of managing the situation.’

According to Mr Roberts’ family, this is the second time something like this has happened within a matter of weeks. 

Ms Roberts claims Mr Roberts was taken to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd by ambulance on February 2, following a fall and waited more than 12 hours to be seen before doctors discovered he had broken his hip and his back.

She added: ‘I don’t think there’s enough staff in the hospital to deal with the influx of patients. 

‘It’s not just the wait for the ambulance, there’s ambulances queuing outside hospitals because there’s not enough people to treat them.’

Officers from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene at around 10.45pm, shortly followed by the Welsh Ambulance Service. 

Mr Roberts was taken by ambulance to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, where he is believed to be receiving treatment for a broken hip.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Senedd Member Jane Dodds told MailOnline: ‘The situation faced by this gentlemen is utterly unacceptable. 

‘Sadly, it is not proving uncommon in Wales right now. 

‘The Labour Government are failing to get to grips with the crisis in the Welsh NHS and while COVID has undoubtedly resulted in extra pressure, the situation had been deteriorating long before COVID. 

‘The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been consistently pressuring the Government on poor emergency response times throughout the last few months. 

‘It is clear Labour need to put more money into local services to stop crisis points building up at A&E departments. 

‘I have also expressed my concern over the decision to withdraw army support from the Welsh Ambulance service, one that we think has been taken too soon.’ 

Sonia Thompson, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Director of Operations for the Emergency Medical Service, said: ‘There has been very high demand for our services this week, and this – coupled with the pressures across the entire urgent care system, including extensive hospital handover delays – has meant that some patients have waited much longer for our help, sometimes many hours.

‘Regrettably, Mr Roberts was among those patients and we are deeply sorry for what will have been a distressing experience for all involved. 

‘We would welcome contact should the family wish to explore our response further.’

The latest statistics show the average ambulance waiting times are climbing as the NHS struggles to cope with a staffing crisis and the backlog caused by the Covid pandemic – as well as staff absences.  

Figures from February, released by NHS England this month, show the average ambulance response time for the most urgent calls – including cardiac arrest – was eight minutes and 51 seconds, almost two minutes more than the seven-minute target and up from eight minutes and 31 seconds in January.   

In terms of emergency calls, including burns, strokes and seizures, the average response time was 42 minutes and seven seconds – up from 38 minutes and four seconds the month before and more than double the set target of 18 minutes.   

When it came to urgent calls, including people with non-severe burns or mothers going into labour,  ambulances arrived on average within two hours and 16 minutes, compared to one hour and 56 minutes in January.   

There is now a growing number of reported incidents of people waiting up to 10, 12 and even 20 hours for an ambulance in parts of the country. 

The Liberal Democrats earlier this month said ambulance services are at ‘breaking point’.

They said in a statement: ‘Record long ambulance waits are leaving vulnerable patients stuck in queues outside hospitals for hours without the treatment they need. 

‘People are being left scared, panicked and with worsening symptoms, and in extreme cases dying when they might have been saved.’ 

NHS National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis, told MailOnline today: ‘NHS staff remain under pressure as they deal with high numbers of patients in hospital alongside a spike in staff absences due to covid-19 – with numbers of staff off sick due to covid almost doubling in the last three weeks.

‘Yet NHS staff are working hard to deliver as much routine care as possible as well as rolling out the NHS spring booster programme, so if you have a health concern, please come forward for the care you need.’

It comes after a man in Belfast whose 83-year-old aunt, named Sheila, was left lying in the street for over four hours on Monday this week. 

Her nephew Declan told BBC’s Nolan Show that politicians need to ‘recognise the system is broken.’   

‘I was ashamed to be a citizen of Belfast to see my auntie Sheila lying in the street for four hours and 20 minutes,’ he said. 

‘She fell at 4.10pm and the ambulance arrived at 8.30pm.’

He added: ‘Sheila fell just outside the convent of the Sisters of St Vincent de Paul and they were able to provide blankets and pillows to help Sheila. 

‘The biggest fear is that she could have caught pneumonia. We were very fortunate Monday was a warm night. 

‘Can you imagine if that had happened on a cold, wet, dark November evening?’

Another pensioner who suffered a suspected broken hip at Christ Church in Bath, Somerset, on March 25, had to be tended by the vicar – because his ambulance did not show up for 12 hours.

The 93-year-old had suffered the injury after falling during the interval of an evening concert before the Rev Lore Chumbley – a retired surgeon – tended to him after the man had insisted the concert continue despite his accident. 

The man told reporters that he was in ‘exquisite’ pain lying crumpled on the floor when he fell. 

After calling 999, one member of the congregation stood outside the church ready to flag down the ambulance.

The elderly man was left ‘waiting and waiting’ as paramedics did not turn up until the following morning, with his wife sitting next to him on the floor, holding his hand the entire time.

The pensioner had been enjoying a rendition of Stainer’s Crucifixion by choir Canzona when he stood up to stretch his legs during the interval.

Keith Malone, a former ITV journalist from Bristol, attended the concert and saw the man stumble, almost hitting his head on a pew as he fell.

The 65 year old said: ‘I had a front-row seat and I was just chatting to my wife during the interval when suddenly this man fell against me and collapsed to the floor.

‘It was lucky I was there because otherwise he would have hit his head on the wooden pew.’ 

Once the concert was over, the man’s wife, Rev Lore and members of the congregation waited with him for the ambulance.

She said: ‘We stayed with him – it took about 11 hours and 50 minutes.

‘He was very jolly and brave, despite being in a lot of pain – such a wonderful man. 

‘One young chap in the congregation stood outside in the cold all night waiting for the ambulance to come, to flag it down in the dark.

‘The paramedics were very polite – there was absolutely nothing they could do to get to us sooner. 

‘But we were worried and he was worried.

‘My concern was I was with the man and his wife, but had they been alone, had it happened at home, they would not have known what he could do.

‘You expect an ambulance to turn up in half an hour. 

‘They simply could not believe it was going to be that long, but we waited and waited.

‘Nobody slept, his wife sat next to him. He was in pain if he moved a millimetre – he was extremely brave as it was extremely painful.

‘In the morning, we prayed for the ambulance to come and – I’m not claiming divine right – but 20 minutes later it did at around 7am.

‘They had to give him morphine to move him as any movement was exquisitely painful.’

Rev Lore said the man has since had an operation.

A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We would like to wish this patient well in their recovery.

‘We are sorry that, due to the health and social care system being under severe pressure, some patients are having to wait longer for an ambulance.

‘One of the reasons is the length of time it’s taking us to hand over patients into busy hospitals.

‘We are working closely with NHS partners to address these delays, so our crews can get back out on the road for other patients.

‘However, even with the additional resources we are making available, the number of ambulances currently waiting for prolonged periods of time at Emergency Departments inevitably impacts our ability to respond to patients.’

In November last year, a 92-year-old diabetic spent nearly 14 hours lying on the floor covered in blood while waiting for an ambulance.

Cyril Pepper was left with severe back pain, damage to his arm and also banged his head during a fall at his home on Monday, November 8.

Mr Pepper, of Silverdale, Staffordshire, who also suffered a stroke six years ago, managed to alert friends after by pressing a care alarm button at his home.

He said: ‘I was lying on my back in so much pain. It was horrendous.’  

Mr Pepper’s friend and carer Debbie Ausin, 59, arrived at his home at around 3pm after she received a message from Carecall – a personal care service.

She found the pensioner lying against a radiator on the floor near his kitchen, with blood marks from where he had tried to catch his fall. 

After Mr Pepper raised the alarm, an ambulance was called at 2pm but it didn’t arrive until 4am the following morning, while Ms Ausin stayed with Mr Pepper for the rest of his 14-hour ordeal.