Response times for serious calls also worsened. The Welsh Ambulance Service is reviewing how it handled a call for a 93-year-old woman who fell and suffered fractures.
In Wales, 10,977 patients waited at least 12 hours for an ambulance in August, the BBC said on 24 October, citing published figures. That was 733 patients, or 6.3%, fewer than in the previous month.
The median response time for orange calls—those involving serious conditions—rose from about an hour to nearly an hour and a half. The median is the middle response time: half of responses take less time and half take longer. Owen’s call category is not known, and the reasons for the wider increase in response times remain unclear.
Margaret Owen, 93, fell at home in Abercynon on 4 October and suffered fractures to her femur, or thigh bone, and shoulder. Her son, Graham Anthony, said she has dementia and struggled to remember what happened. She needed surgery and was still in hospital on 24 October.
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| 06:15 | Anthony received an alert from his mother’s lifeline alarm and went to her home. |
| 07:35 | An ambulance was called. |
| 15:30 | A St John Ambulance worker arrived at the Welsh Ambulance Service’s request. |
| About 17:00 | An ambulance arrived another 90 minutes later and took Owen to hospital. |
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The account puts the ambulance’s arrival about nine hours and 25 minutes after the ambulance call. The reported 10½ hours on the floor is a different measure. Anthony said he did not know how long his mother had been on the floor before she activated her alarm.
Anthony praised the crew who eventually attended but said the experience had damaged his confidence in the health service’s ability to respond. He submitted formal complaints to the ambulance service and the Welsh government.
St John Ambulance Cymru says it has provided a falls response service commissioned by the Welsh Ambulance Service since January 2018. Falls assistants can be sent after a 999 call or a lifeline alarm activation; patients cannot book them privately. The organisation advises calling 999 for falls involving injury.
The organisation says its assistants assess patients before moving them and work with ambulance-service clinicians to decide on treatment and referrals. A falls responder’s visit does not automatically mean transport to hospital: some patients can receive care at home.
The Welsh government says the ambulance service also has clinicians who review waiting patients and speak directly to 999 callers. They consider alternative responses, whether a patient can safely receive care without hospital transport, and whether the call needs a higher priority.
Lee Brooks, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s chief operating officer, apologised for Owen’s experience. He said a preliminary review had identified aspects of the call’s management that needed further investigation. Staff were examining whether they could have responded differently; this was not a final finding explaining the delay.
The Welsh government said improving access to care was a key priority. It plans to publish a new emergency and acute care policy framework this autumn, setting out plans to improve emergency responses in the community and how patients move through hospital care.
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