GWENT health chiefs have apologised to a pensioner left waiting five hours for an ambulance.

Kathleen Purnell, (pictured)78, of Spring Bank, Abertillery, who was suffering from a chest infection, was left because Gwent Healthcare Trust failed to notify the ambulance control centre of the emergency.

Mrs Purnell's wait began after her GP telephoned the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, at 1.30pm, to request admission to Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, and arrange a paramedic ambulance.

Three hours later Mrs Purnell's son David rang Nevill Hall to ask where the ambulance was.

The hospital had no record of a request and advised him to ring the ambulance control centre.

He also rang the emergency doctor service at Aberbeeg, asking it to ensure a request was made. An ambulance finally arrived for Mrs Purnell at 6.30pm.

But her furious son says the system of logging emergency calls does not work, and more checks should be introduced.

Mr Purnell has also lodged an official complaint aimed at the "ineptitude" and "bureaucracy" of the ambulance system.

He said: "After three hours, an ambulance hadn't arrived so I called the Pontypool control centre who revealed no such request had been received. By the time I had arranged for another ambulance to arrive through the emergency doctor service at Aberbeeg, it meant my mother was not taken until 6.30pm. I would have taken her to hospital myself if she had been in a fit state to make it to my car, but she was very ill."

Mrs Purnell recovered and was discharged from hospital after four days. But her son believes communication between departments needs improving urgently.

"If there is a breakdown in communication and people are forgetting to book ambulances, that is very worrying," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust said they were not aware of the call until 4.55pm and dispatched an ambulance which arrived "within the time scale that we adhere to in these situations."

A Gwent Healthcare Trust spokesman admitted there had been a delay in calling ambulance control.

"We did receive a call from Mr Purnell's GP requesting an ambulance at 1.30pm. There was a delay and this was picked up later when the ambulance requests were checked. The call was then made for an ambulance at 4.51pm.

"We have spoken to Mrs Purnell's family and have apologised." The National Assembly is also investigating, after a complaint from Mr Purnell. Councillor Karen Williams, chairwoman of Blaenau Gwent's environmental health committee, said: "This incident highlights once again our concerns about the need for improvement to the ambulance service."