Man, 77, waits 20 hours for an ambulance

The daughter of 77-year-old man who waited almost 20 hours for an ambulance says they were offered “absolutely no support” from the NHS.

Clive Thomas broke his neck when he fell out of bed on 31 March, but his wife was told there were "no ambulances available" when she called 999.

Mr Thomas was told that he had "probably pulled a muscle" so he decided to stay at home, but decided to call for an ambulance again on Saturday.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said it was sorry to hear about the experience and is committed to delivering high quality care.

Clive Thomas, of Neath, Port Talbot, who has osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bone strength, waited until 19:00 BST on Saturday, 6th April to find out he had broken his neck.

Ceri Moran, his daughter, said "the doctors didn't seem to care" about her father's injuries, and that the whole situation was "demoralising".

The Welsh Ambulance Service said first responders arrived at Mr Thomas' home in Neath two hours after the call was made to 999, but Mr Thomas' daughter said they arrived with "inadequate space or equipment for his injuries".

An ambulance and paramedic team arrived at 9:46 on Saturday morning and took Mr Thomas to Morriston hospital, where he waited around a further five hours to be seen by a doctor.

Ms Moran said: “I arrived at the hospital and was told to go outside and find ambulance 319 as that’s where they were looking after him.

“He was lying on the bed with nothing supporting his neck. I don’t think they thought anything of his injuries at the time.”

She added: "Surely there have to be exceptions for elderly, vulnerable people.

"We’re lucky that at the very least he was seen. It could’ve easily gone the other way, he could’ve been left paralysed.”

Liam Williams, of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We invite Mr Thomas, or a representative, to contact us directly so that we can better understand their concerns and investigate what happened in this instance.”

Swansea Bay health board said Morriston Hospital was "under extreme pressure" for a number of days, which led to it declaring a "business continuity incident", its highest level of escalation.

"We apologise to any patients who have experienced longer waits, as we fully understand how frustrating and distressing that can be," a spokesperson for the health board said.

"We will of course respond directly to patients or families if they contact us with their concerns."

The health board added it had now "de-escalated" but the hospital remained "very busy", and asked people to only use A&E as a last resort.