AN ELDERLY Gwent couple have spoken of their despair after having to wait more than five hours for an ambulance that never came.

Donald Smith, from Pontllanfraith, stated he “was at such a loss” after waiting for so long that when he received a call from the ambulance service apologising for the delay at 11pm, he drove his wife to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.

Mr Smith’s wife Cherry, 73, had an out-of-hours GP visit her at home at 6pm on Wednesday, September 14 after she came down with severe stomach pains. The doctor believed it could be related to gallstones but needed to be checked immediately.

Mr Smith, 83, said: “After the doctor came we called for an ambulance and were told we were fifth in the queue for an ambulance, then after waiting for more than an hour we were told we were still the fifth in line.

“This was still the case when I called back again after another hour had passed with my wife in a lot of pain.

“Eventually someone called me at about 11pm saying that unfortunately other more important jobs had been put before us and they would pay for a taxi to come and pick us up.”

The couple, who moved to Pontllanfraith from Brittany two years ago, made their own way to the hospital and arrived by about 11.30pm.

Mrs Smith was let out the following afternoon at 2pm under the provision that she would be treated as a VIP, virtual in-patient, which gets priority and would receive a call shortly to arrange a scan.

Mr Smith, of Beech Avenue, added: “When we arrived to the hospital there were four ambulances just stationary, which was really annoying.

“But I have to say that once we arrived the nurses were great.

“The worst thing is the not knowing while we wait for the scan, which is worrying.

“My wife had been on pain killers due to her back and we are concerned this could have affected her stomach as the pain was so strong.”

Andrea Evans, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s locality manager for the Aneurin Bevan South area, said: “We are concerned to hear of Mrs Smith’s experience and appreciate it must have been an unpleasant wait for her, and for that we are sorry.

“Although this call was important to us, it was assessed and categorised as non-life threatening and all of our crews and available ambulances were already committed to other patients.”

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We’re sorry to hear Mrs Smith has had concerns about her care.

“Our surgical team at the Royal Gwent Hospital have since contacted Mrs Smith to reassure her and to discuss her ongoing care and treatment.”