AN ELDERLY man waited for four hours for an ambulance after dislocating and breaking his hip after falling on a busy high street.

The 85-year-old was left on the floor of Chepstow High Street, being assisted by two police officers and members of the public, from when he first fell at around 1.45pm, until 6.30pm on October 23.

"We could not believe how long they were waiting, it was four hours with police assisting and phoning," said a worker in one of the high street's charity shops.

"The gentleman tripped on the curb and fell into the road. You could see he had dislocated his hip.

"He looked as though he was in a lot of pain, and the weather was awful so he was stuck on the cold, damp concrete for hours.

"When it first happened, I went outside to help divert the traffic around him before police came and took over.

"An off-duty nurse called Sinead stayed with him the whole time, despite being on her way to pick her kids up from school. She made other arrangements and stayed - she was amazing."

A plethora of the high street's businesses came together to help, with a lady called Denise from Costa giving hot drinks to Sinead and the emergency workers, and local charities bringing pillows and blankets to keep the injured man warm.

"I thought how can they leave him there like that? It's just ridiculous," said Denise.

"People were gawping at him, he had no privacy, so I took the barriers we use for the café and put them around him."

When local people were informed of the incident, they felt upset at the length of time the man had to wait, highlighting that even when he was put inside the ambulance, it was a 35 minute drive to the closest A+E department.

Pip Powell said: "Our ambulances need to be able to drop and go at A&E. Not get stuck with a patient throughout the triage/test process. They want to be out with patients, not spending entire shifts at the Grange."

Samantha Sim said: "I don't think the Grange is a big enough hospital for the area it serves and it's only going to get worse this winter."

The Welsh Ambulance Service acknowledged the significant pressures they are under, and assured that they are striving for change.

Sonia Thompson, assistant director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "We sincerely apologise to the patient for what would have been a painful and distressing wait for an ambulance.

"999 calls are assessed based on clinical priority. While we strive to respond promptly, we must prioritise our limited resources, sending them to patients requiring hospitalisation and potentially lifesaving treatment first.

“Unfortunately, the wait the patient experienced is a reflection of the sustained and well-documented pressures across the entire emergency healthcare pathway.

"This is not the standard of service we wish to provide, and we are actively collaborating with the Welsh Government and Local Health Boards to implement meaningful change.

"We encourage the patient or their representative to contact us directly so we can better understand their concerns and investigate the situation, and we wish them a swift recovery.”