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

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A pensioner’s family are furious after he was left lying on the pavement in excruciating pain for more than 10 hours while waiting for an ambulance. 

Emlyn Roberts, 69, had tripped and broken his hip and back while walking in the town centre of Colwyn Bay, North Wales, at approximately 12.30pm on March 29. 

Members of the public, who found Mr Roberts ‘moaning in agony’ and 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. 

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

One woman who phoned for an ambulance after her 86-year-old neighbour collapsed claims she told her ambulance could take 20 hours.

Another woman who found herself lying on her bathroom floor in a pool of blood claims she was told an ambulance would take 12 hours,

Meanwhile, 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.’

At approximately 10.45pm, officers from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene, 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.

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 are actively engaged with colleagues across the health system to help improve flow so that ambulances can be released from emergency departments – being rendered unable to respond to the community in a timely way is frustrating for us as it is for patients.

‘In the meantime, the public can help by using our services appropriately – if it’s not a serious or life-threatening emergency, the first port of call should be the NHS 111 Wales website for advice, or local GP, pharmacist or Minor Injuries Unit. 

‘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.  

Figures released by NHS England last 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 Lib Dems 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.’

Their comments came before a pensioner who broke his 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.

‘Several people there had medical experience and the vicar herself is a retired surgeon, so he was in good hands. He had a really bad pain in his hip so they suspected it might be a fracture. 

‘They put cushions under his head and his leg to make him comfortable and he was given some paracetamol for the pain. Meanwhile, someone had rung 999 for an ambulance.’

But by then, the 7pm interval was almost over and the second half of the concert was due to begin with the elderly gentleman still lying on the floor at the foot of the stage.

Mr Malone continued: ‘The audience was waiting for part two of the concert so the musical director came up and asked the man what he wanted to do.

‘He insisted he wanted the show to go on, with him lying on the floor.

‘He said he ‘didn’t want to mess things up’ and I said to him ‘this is like what they did on the Titanic – the band played on’.

‘So he listened to the rest of the concert – Rutter’s Requiem – and clapped for Canzona when they had finished.

‘They, in turn, applauded him for his fortitude in making it through the show. It was wonderful the way everyone came together to support him.’

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.’