A WREXHAM pensioner spent 13-hours lying on the floor waiting for an ambulance to arrive after a fall at home.

Carl Williams, 82, fell over on Sunday evening (July 10) at around 7pm.

The 999 call for an ambulance followed - but Mr Williams had to wait until 8am the following morning for one to arrive.

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Mr Williams' partner had rushed next door to ask the neighbour for help but they had been unable to move him and also feared they would just make things worse if they attempted to do so.

His son-in-law, Glen Oldfield said: "We're not quite sure what happened to him, but he suffers from a condition with his feet and so isn't up and about walking very often.

"We live in Connah's Quay so we felt by the time we got over there we couldn't have really done much. But he ended up waiting until around 8.10am on the Monday morning for an ambulance to arrive.

"They suspected that he had suffered a broken hip."

The Leader:

PIC: Mr Williams was eventually taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital for X-rays.

Mr Williams was set to undergo an operation at Wrexham Maelor Hospital on Tuesday afternoon (July 12), according to Glen.

He added: "They took him straight into the Maelor once they arrived and he had an X-ray done. We don't blame the NHS for any of this waiting around as the demand is so high - but it is very frustrating.

"We haven't even been able to visit him in hospital together since as there are still restrictions around who can visit. It's a bit annoying."

Liz Wedley, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Head of Service in North Wales, said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about Mr Williams’ experience, which we know will have been distressing for all involved.

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“Significant pressure remains across urgent and emergency care system – high call volume coupled with excessive hospital handover delays and staff absence due to Covid-19 means some patients are waiting a long time for our help, potentially many hours in times of extreme demand.

“We had almost 2,000 calls to 999 on Sunday alone, which is roughly one call every minute.

“We would invite Mr Williams’ family to contact us directly so that we can better understand their experience.

“The public can help by using NHS services appropriately, including the NHS 111 Wales website which should now be your first port of call for health advice and information.

“Please only call 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency.”