BBC presenter Iolo Williams reveals his 90-year-old mother was forced to wait on the floor for SIX HOURS for an ambulance after falling out of bed only four miles from hospital
- Springwatch's Iolo's mother fell from her bed at 7am and was too frail to move
- She was still there at 1pm when ambulance crew took her four miles to hospital
- The TV presenter posted a picture of his mother's 'disgraceful' plight online
A TV nature presenter has lashed out after his 90-year-old mother had to wait on the floor more than six hours for an ambulance - after falling out of bed.
BBC's Countryfile and Springwatch expert Iolo Williams was furious that over-stretched ambulance crews in the Labour-run Welsh NHS left his mother Megan on the floor.
His mother fell from her bed at 7am and was too frail to move - and was still there at 1pm when the ambulance crew took her just four miles to hospital.
Iolo said: 'It is disgraceful that my 90-year-old mother has fallen and been forced to lie on the floor for so long.
BBC's Countryfile and Springwatch expert Iolo Williams was furious that over-stretched ambulance crews in the Labour-run Welsh NHS left his mother Megan on the floor
'I don't blame the paramedics themselves, they just do their job. But there's no love at all for the NHS, that's obvious - things have been getting worse for years.
'There is a clear lack of investment. We see the rich people running the country, and they know if you need to go private, people can.'
Megan was in agony after falling out of bed at her home in Felinheli, North Wales, only four miles from Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.
Iolo's sister Ffion was staying with her mother at the time, and heard her mother shouting after the fall. She then had to call the emergency services three times.
Iolo was so shocked that her posted a picture of his mother's plight on social media saying: 'This is my mum. She is 90 and very frail. In the night, she fell out of bed.
'My sister called the ambulance before 7am. Nearly six hours later and the ambulance still hasn't arrived! This is what happens when successive governments cut funding to essential services.'
It is the latest in a series of glitches by the Labour-run Welsh NHS and the Welsh Ambulance Service.
Countryfile presenter Iolo was so shocked that her posted a picture of his mother's plight on social media
Welsh Ambulance Service chief executive Jason Killens apologised to patients who had endured long waits - saying the service was in 'uncharted territory'.
He insisted the service was working hard to deal with the situation and had recruited 'over a couple of hundred' new staff in the past 18 months.
'We're recruiting and training more through the rest of this year, which will be paramedics on the streets as we approach winter,' he said.
The Welsh Government said getting patients from ambulances and into A&E remained a 'significant challenge' and recently announced £25m to improve the outcome of emergency calls.
A spokesman said: 'A range of local and system-wide factors contribute to these delays, including reduced physical capacity within emergency departments, increased levels of demand, and pressures elsewhere in the system.'
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