Woman, 93, waited 10 hours on floor with broken bones for ambulance in Wales

Son criticises ambulance service; Welsh Ambulance Service and government respond

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published24 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Illustration: Woman, 93, waited 10 hours on floor with broken bones for ambulance in Wales

Margaret Owen, 93, lay on the floor of her home in Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taf, for 10 and a half hours with fractures to her femur and shoulder before an ambulance arrived, her son Graham Anthony has said. She fell on 4 October and activated her lifeline alarm at 06:15, but an ambulance did not take her to hospital until 17:00, after a St John Ambulance worker attended at 15:30 at the request of the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Margaret Owen's son, Graham Anthony, said he went to her home after receiving the alarm call and called an ambulance at 07:35. He described his mother's distress, saying: "Listening to her repeatedly asking for help and sometimes screaming in pain has left me with a feeling of hopelessness."

Mrs Owen, who has dementia, suffered fractures to her femur and shoulder and needed surgery. She remains in Royal Glamorgan Hospital almost three weeks after the fall.

Mr Anthony said the experience had "knocked my confidence in our health service's ability to respond" and described the delay as "not good enough" and a "huge systemic problem". He has submitted a formal complaint to the Welsh Ambulance Service and the Welsh government.

Lee Brooks, chief operating officer of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said he was "grateful" the incident had been brought to his attention and that "waiting almost eight hours for help is not the standard of service we want to provide". A preliminary review had identified "aspects" of how the call was managed that required further investigation.

The Welsh government said it recognised how distressing it could be to wait for care and that improving access to care was a "key priority". It said a new emergency and acute care policy framework would be published this autumn.

According to published figures for August, 10,977 patients waited 12 hours or more for an ambulance in Wales, 6.3% fewer than the previous month. The median response time for purple calls was within target, while the median for red calls missed target. The median for orange-category calls, introduced in December, was nearly one hour 30 minutes, up from about one hour.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The incident illustrates persistent pressures on ambulance services in Wales, with long waits affecting elderly and vulnerable patients.
The case follows the recent re-categorisation of ambulance calls by NHS Wales, and the median response time for orange calls has risen.
A formal complaint and a planned policy framework make this a test case for future improvements.

Background

NHS Wales re-categorised ambulance calls in July 2025, introducing purple and red categories for the most serious emergencies, and in December added three new categories: orange (serious conditions), yellow (need assessment) and green (less urgent). The latest published data show median response times for orange calls increased to nearly one hour 30 minutes in recent months, up from about one hour. The Welsh Ambulance Service received 11,868 orange calls in September.

Key Perspectives

Graham Anthony (son of patient): said the wait was unacceptable and that the delay ''knocked my confidence in our health service's ability to respond.'' He described the situation as a ''huge systemic problem'' and said there were ''far too many examples of similar injuries, similar waits.'' Lee Brooks (Chief Operating Officer, Welsh Ambulance Service): apologised and said the service was ''grateful'' the incident was brought to attention. He said a preliminary review found ''aspects'' of call management that needed further investigation. Welsh government: said improving access to care was a ''key priority'' and that a new emergency and acute care policy framework would be published this autumn.

What to Watch

Publication of the Welsh government's new emergency and acute care policy framework, expected this autumn.
Outcome of the Welsh Ambulance Service's investigation into how Margaret Owen's call was handled.
Whether median response times for orange calls improve or continue to rise, as data for coming months are released.

Sources

My 93-year-old mother waited 10 hours on the floor for an ambulance · BBC Wales

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedA 93-year-old woman waited on the floor with broken bones for about 10 hours for an ambulance in Wales.BBC Wales: “A 93-year-old woman had to lie on the floor for 10-and-a-half hours with broken bones while waiting for an ambulance.”
SupportedOwen fell on 4 October, her alarm call came at 06:15, and an ambulance took her to hospital at 17:00 after a St John Ambulance worker attended at 15:30.BBC Wales: “Margaret Owen fell in her home on 4 October and her son Graham Anthony went over after getting a call from her lifeline alarm at 06:15. He said an ambulance was called at 07:35, but a St John Ambulance worker only came at the request of the Welsh Ambulance Service at 15:30. It was another 90 minutes until an ambulance came and took Margaret to hospital.”
Partly supportedAnthony called the ambulance at 07:35.BBC Wales: “He said an ambulance was called at 07:35”
SupportedAnthony said: “Listening to her repeatedly asking for help and sometimes screaming in pain has left me with a feeling of hopelessness.”BBC Wales: ““Listening to her repeatedly asking for help and sometimes screaming in pain has left me with a feeling of hopelessness,” said Graham.”
SupportedOwen has dementia, suffered fractures to her femur and shoulder, and needed surgery.BBC Wales: “Anthony said his mum, from Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taf, has dementia and struggled to remember exactly what happened.”
SupportedAnthony said the experience “knocked my confidence in our health service’s ability to respond.”BBC Wales: “he admitted the experience “knocked my confidence in our health service's ability to respond””
SupportedAnthony described the service as “not good enough” and a “huge systemic problem.”BBC Wales: ““It's not a service, is it really? It's a huge systemic problem and nobody seems to be getting to grips with it,” Anthony said.”
SupportedAnthony submitted a formal complaint to the Welsh Ambulance Service and the Welsh government.BBC Wales: “Anthony said he had submitted a formal complaint to the Welsh Ambulance Service and the Welsh government.”
SupportedLee Brooks, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s chief operating officer, said waiting almost eight hours for help was not the standard of service they wanted to provide.BBC Wales: “Brooks, the ambulance service's chief operating officer, said he was “grateful” to have the incident brought to his attention. “Waiting almost eight hours for help is not the standard of service we want to provide,” he added.”
SupportedA preliminary review identified aspects of how the call was managed that required further investigation.BBC Wales: “He said a preliminary review identified “aspects” of the way the call was managed that require further investigation”
SupportedThe Welsh government said improving access to care was a “key priority” and that a new emergency and acute care policy framework would be published that autumn.BBC Wales: “The Welsh government said it recognised how distressing it could be to wait for care when someone has suffered an injury and that improving access to care was a “key priority”. It added that a new emergency and acute care policy framework would be published this autumn”
SupportedIn August, 10,977 patients waited at least 12 hours for an ambulance, 6.3% fewer than the previous month.BBC Wales: “According to the latest published figures, 10,977 patients waited 12 hours or more for an ambulance in August, 733 (6.3%) fewer than the previous month.”

Correction

25 October 2026An earlier version of this story said median response times for the highest priority calls were within target. The median for purple calls was within target, but the median for red calls missed target.