An 80-year-old man with “serious head injuries” waited four hours for an ambulance but in the end took himself to hospital.
It is thought he sustained the injuries after he fell while walking along the country lane, near to Wrexham. He was discovered by Jonathan Greatorex who administered first aid, reported WalesOnline.
Mr Greatorex, who owns Hand Hotel and Spa, was appalled the walker had to wait four hours for an ambulance, who in the end had to be driven to the hospital by his wife.
Responding to his allegations, the Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS) offered its “sincerest apologies” to the injured walker, for what they said must have been a “distressing and traumatic” experience.
The following day, WAS declared an “extraordinary incident” in Wales over hospital handover delays, with the service urging people to only ring 999 if their emergency is life or limb-threatening.
Mr Greatorex wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he was alerted to the incident and fetched his equipment as a first aider
He said: “Today I was called to help and administer first aid on an 80-year-old man who had suffered serious head injuries in a fall on a country lane whilst out walking.
“As you can see from the photo, he suffered serious blood loss. I managed to get the bleeding under control and having dialled 999 I was told not to move him.
“After THREE HOURS of waiting for an ambulance by the roadside, hypothermia started to set in and he was losing consciousness. I took him to my home, just down the road and when, after FOUR HOURS, the ambulance hadn’t turned up, we managed to get hold of his wife who drove him to hospital.”
He added: “Surely, if a delivery company can track their vehicles, so can @WelshAmbulance.
“The staff at 999 were excellent but were unable to give me any updates or info as to where or when the ambulance would arrive. This is simply not acceptable in rural communities such as ours.”
Judith Bryce, assistant director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We would like to extend our sincere apologies to the patient after what must have been a distressing and traumatic incident.
“This is not the service that we want to offer. We are working hard with health board colleagues and Welsh Government to find solutions to the ongoing system wide issues which lead to long waits in the community for ambulances, as we know we need to improve the experience for people across Wales.”
She added: “As the winter approaches, the public can help protect our precious resources for those who need us most by using 999 sensibly, and visiting the NHS 111 Wales for health advice and information, or calling 111 if it’s urgent but not life-threatening.
“We invite the patient to contact the Trust’s Putting Things Right Team so we can investigate the incident fully. I would like to apologise again for the patient’s experience and wish them a speedy recovery.”
