A DIRECTOR at West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has apologised to a woman in her 90s who was left waiting nine hours to be treated by paramedics.

Glenys Coombes, 92, was made to wait overnight for an ambulance on Tuesday, June 1, with two fractures following a fall, with daughter Sian Tasker describing the situation as 'unforgivable'.

The ambulance eventually arrived shortly before 6am on Wednesday, June 2, and Nathan Hudson, emergency services operations delivery director at WMAS apologised to the family.

He said: “I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the length of time it took to get to Mrs Coombes.

"No-one should have to wait almost nine hours for an ambulance to turn up, particularly a 92-year-old lady who is in severe pain.

“Unfortunately, the NHS remains under severe pressure.

"At the time of the call, demand for ambulances in Shropshire was 15 per cent higher than the same day last year.

"The pressure on local hospitals also has a knock-on effect on ambulance handover times which unfortunately means our patients wait longer for a response to their 999 call.

“Like our colleagues in hospitals and other parts of the NHS, our crews are working flat out with many offering to work additional shifts to help meet the current level of demand, which is far higher than we have ever seen in the past for the time of year.

“I would also encourage members of the public to make full use of services such as their GP, pharmacists and urgent treatment centres.”

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