AN MP has slammed the treatment of an elderly woman said to have waited more than 16 hours for an ambulance, calling it “unacceptable”.

A carer for the 75-year-old woman, who has asked not be named, had called an out-of-hours doctor for assistance on Saturday afternoon and was told to expect a waiting time of three hours.

But she would not be taken to Nevill Hall Hospital until the following morning, prompting distress among her family.

Her daughter, Debbie Gordon, has since reached out to Monmouth MP David Davies, and he has now called for an investigation.

Mrs Gordon, 47, told the Argus that her mother, who has suffered multiple strokes and two brain tumours in recent years, found herself unable to move from a chair at her home in Govilon.

“The doctor came out and said mum had to go to hospital,” she said. “They organised a bed at Nevill Hall and said that someone would be with us before 6pm, but at 8pm and 10pm there was nothing.

“The carer rang the ambulance and was told that it was manic and that someone would be with them within four hours.”

When evening turned to morning Mrs Gordon’s mother was still unable to stand, meaning she could not use the toilet.

An emergency ambulance eventually made it to the house on Sunday morning and Mrs Gordon was taken to Nevil Hall, where she is being “looked after superbly”, according to her daughter.

“We know something has gone wrong in the system to leave her for 16 hours,” she added.

“Waiting a few hours is fine if you know it’s not an emergency, but we weren’t prepared for the extent of our wait.”

Mr Davies said he was shocked to hear what happened and is calling for action to prevent similar incidents.

“I was told by the ambulance service that ambulances were not getting unloaded quickly enough at Nevill Hall and the Royal Gwent Hospital, and this created a huge backlog” he said.

“This lady was just left there and that is completely unacceptable. I’m calling for a full inquiry and explanation into ambulances not being unloaded quickly enough.

Richard Lee, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s director of operations, said: “We are sincerely sorry to this lady for her significant wait to be admitted to hospital. We appreciate how distressing this would have been for both this lady and her family, and it does not reflect the experience we want to provide for our patients.”

Mr Lee added that the service had experienced considerable delays in handing over patients at hospitals in the area.

“Regrettably this led to some patients waiting longer than we would like for assistance,” he said.

“We have discussed this matter with Mr Davies and would be happy to talk through any remaining queries that he or this lady’s family may have.”

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board added: “Over the weekend the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall hospitals were extremely busy due to a high intake of very poorly people with serious health conditions.

“We would like to apologise to this lady and her family for the inconvenience and upset caused by these circumstances.

“We continue to work with our colleagues in the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to ensure the timely transfer of patients into our care and to release ambulance crews as quickly and efficiently as possible to respond to emergency calls in our communities.”