Pensioner in agony after fracturing pelvis waited over 12 hours to get to hospital

03.02.2022 - 23:21 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A pensioner who slipped on wet grass and fractured his pelvis while walking home had to wait up to six hours for an ambulance and then another five hours outside the hospital before being seen.

Tom Parry, 73, had been carrying out volunteer work on December 4, and was walking back home shortly before 2pm when he fell.

Mr Parry, of Wales, managed to stop himself from falling to the ground, but states that he was left in "absolute agony" because he "did the splits", North Wales Live reports.

A passerby who witnessed the fall drove over and put the back of his car down for Mr Parry to lean on before contacting the ambulance service.

A friend of Mr Parry called the local lifeboat station for advice and was told that the team would be there to help.

Within 10 minutes of making the phone call, around 10 RNLI volunteers were at the scene assisting Mr Parry, who by this point was in and out of consciousness because of the pain.

Mr Parry, a retired painter and decorator, said: "I don't really know what happened. I just slipped.

"The RNLI lads managed to get me onto a bodyboard and moved me inside the clubhouse. I honestly don't know what I would have done if they hadn't come to help me.

"It was freezing but locals heard what had happened and one person kept bringing me hot water bottles.

"I don't remember in detail what happened because I was dazed, but I know how well the RNLI boys were treating me. They were amazing."

Mr Parry said the ambulance service was in regular contact with those helping him to make sure that his situation hadn't worsened and after three hours he was moved from a "yellow" alert to an "amber" alert in terms of seriousness.

Mr Parry said the ambulance arrived at around 7.45pm but, when they arrived at Ysbyty