A 93-year-old resident of Abercynon fell in her home on 4 October and activated her lifeline alarm at 06:15. An ambulance was requested at 07:35, but a St John Ambulance worker did not arrive until 15:30 after being requested by the Welsh Ambulance Service. The patient then waited an additional 90 minutes before an ambulance transported her to the hospital.
The woman sustained fractures to her femur and shoulder requiring surgery and remains hospitalized at Royal Glamorgan Hospital. Her son, Graham Anthony, described the experience as distressing, noting his mother has dementia and was in visible pain throughout the extended wait. He expressed concern about the impact on his confidence in the health service’s ability to respond to emergencies and submitted formal complaints to both the Welsh Ambulance Service and Welsh government.
The incident prompted significant public response, with Anthony’s social media post generating hundreds of similar accounts from people describing elderly relatives experiencing comparable ambulance delays. The Welsh government acknowledged the distress caused by such waits and stated that improving emergency care access is a key priority, with a new emergency and acute care policy framework planned for publication this autumn.
Welsh Ambulance Service chief operating officer Lee Brooks stated that waiting nearly eight hours does not meet service standards. A preliminary review identified aspects of call management requiring further investigation. According to NHS data, median ambulance response times for red category calls averaged nine minutes and 32 seconds in recent months, missing the six to eight minute target. Orange category calls, introduced in December, showed median response times of approximately one hour 30 minutes, having increased from about one hour previously.
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