93-year-old with a fractured hip left waiting for an ambulance on the floor for more than 25 hours

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Mr Davies said: “They called for an ambulance but were told the ambulance would not be available for six to eight hours as they were so busy. They said my mother would have priority because of her age. Then the care home called us and we came straight away.”

The staff put a pillow under Elizabeth’s head and did their best to make her comfortable on the wooden floor.

“They were excellent,” said Ian, who like Suzanne works as a community caregiver. “They put a small heater next to her to keep her warm in case she had a shock.”

As Mrs. Davies was unable to go to the toilet, an absorbent pad was placed for her so that she could urinate.

Staff began to call back the ambulance control staff once it became clear that there would be further delays. It is understood that the nursing home made nine calls and a tenth was made by Mr Davies and his wife.

Susan said: “We had to leave in the middle of the night as we had to get up at 5.30am to go to work. My mother-in-law usually goes to bed at 6.30pm-7pm but she couldn’t and was too tired.”

‘was unacceptable’

The care home staff stayed with her through the night and Mr Davies said: “Every time they asked for an update they were told my mum was a priority and an ambulance would come as soon as possible”.

An ambulance finally arrived at around 1.15pm on Sunday, some 25 hours and 30 minutes after Ms Davies had fallen. It was eventually transferred to Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Her son and daughter-in-law have yet to find out about her diagnosis, and the incident has left the couple bitterly frustrated.

“I don’t blame the ambulance staff because they were told what jobs needed to be done and my mother wasn’t on the list,” said Mr Davies. But I was very upset about what had happened – it was not acceptable.

“The whole NHS is struggling at the moment and one of the biggest problems is the shortage of carers. They are not paid enough and nobody wants to do the job.”

“Work to relieve stress”

Stephen Sheldon, Director of Service for the Welsh Ambulance Service in North Wales, apologized to Mrs Davies for her long wait. He called on the family to contact the service directly to raise their concerns.

He said: “Winter pressures combined with increased demand, levels of staff illness and wider system pressures across NHS Wales have hampered our ability to respond. Extensive delays in hospital delivery are well documented and have resulted in very long waiting times for patients.

“On 17 and 18 December we spent more than 1,600 hours outside hospitals across Wales, waiting to hand patients over to colleagues in the hospital, and we lost 563 of those hours outside hospitals in North Wales.

“We are working with partners across Wales to relieve pressure as much as possible. The public can help us by calling 999 only in the event of a serious or life-threatening emergency so that our resources are available to those who need us most.”

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