Ambulance service 'regret' over man's knee injury wait

The Welsh Ambulance Service says it regrets taking more than three hours to reach a pensioner who was lying on wet decking with a fractured kneecap.

Frank Miles, 69, from Magor, Monmouthshire, fell at the Waterloo Hotel after a rotary club meeting.

An ambulance took three hours and 35 minutes to arrive and take him to the Royal Gwent Hospital, a mile away.

The ambulance service has blaming high call volumes to and says it is investigating.

Mr Miles slipped on wet decking as he made his way to his car in the rain after leaving the hotel on Wednesday afternoon.

The ambulance service said whatever you do don't move him, so there was nothing we could do, only try and keep him comfortable, but he was lying in the wet”

A rapid response vehicle arrived some three hours and 20 minutes after staff and rotary club members made the first of six 999 calls.

Two paramedics were on board an ambulance which arrived around 15 minutes later.

It was this vehicle which took Mr Miles to the Royal Gwent Hospital.

Staff used three umbrellas, blankets and a pillow to make Mr Miles comfortable during the wait and propped his leg up with a cardboard box.

The retired civil servant told the South Wales Argus newspaper: "On a very rational basis I think it's ridiculous that when you injure yourself you have to wait for so long.

"It does feel like a long time but I feel relatively comfortable."

Hotel owner Bob Evans told BBC Wales: "The ambulance service said whatever you do don't move him, so there was nothing we could do, only try and keep him comfortable, but he was lying in the wet."

Mr Miles's wife, Christine, said: "There was a real problem. Why couldn't an ambulance come before. What was the response time that you would expect from the ambulance service?"

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We very much regret the time taken to respond to this call, which was received during a period of high call volume in the area.

"Whilst we cannot discuss individual patient details, we will be looking into this incident and would encourage the patient or family involved to contact us directly should they wish to discuss their concerns."