A vulnerable gran was left baking on the ground in 31C heat for more than 12 hours waiting for an ambulance after breaking her leg.
Joanne Rutherford, 61, slipped in the grass while watering her garden in Evesham, Worcs. on Tuesday morning when she heard "something crack".
Husband Stewart, 62, heard his wife scream and dialled 999 at 8.33am.
He was told an ambulance would be dispatched "as soon as possible".
Stewart, who suffers from angina, waited two hours before calling the ambulance service back and an operator told him they were "extremely busy".
Joanne was in too much pain to move as her husband tried to keep her cool in the 31C heat with wet towels.
Stewart and the couple's daughter were forced to cut her clothes off and give her sips of water to prevent her from getting dehydrated.
By 8pm Joanne's left leg swelled up and she started vomiting blood, sparking fears she had internal bleeding.
The ambulance didn't arrive until 8.50pm - more than 12 hours after the initial 999 call.
Joanne was finally taken to hospital where she was treated for a broken femur.
Stewart, a former shift manager at a flooring company, said: "She was lying in 31C heat, screaming in pain.
He continued: "I thought she was going to die. If I could have taken her pain I would have."
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Stewart said he rang the ambulance service multiple times and at first they said they would be there in three hours and then five.
He added: "When I called back again after ten hours waiting, they said my wife was 'on the list' and said they were very busy dealing with other emergencies.
"My wife has health issues, clearly had a broken leg and was showing signs of internal bleeding, how much more of an emergency can you get."
Joanne was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital and she underwent surgery to have pins inserted into the bone yesterday.
The couple are now demanding changes in the way emergency cases are handled.
Stewart added: "No one is blaming the paramedics, they did a wonderful job when they got here.
"In fact, it was their first job of the night which means Joanne sat in agony on the ground in scorching heat for an entire shift.
"Even the paramedics said they were shocked that she had waited so long.
"They said they were overwhelmed by the weather, Covid cases and were understaffed, no doubt losing people who were isolating due to being pinged."
West Midlands Ambulance Service said they received over 6,400 calls on Tuesday compared to 4,000 on a typical day.
The spike in calls was blamed on the heatwave and surging cases of Covid-19.
Emergency services operations delivery director Nathan Hudson said: "I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the length of time it took to get to Mrs Rutherford.
"We continue to see high levels of demand for our service and our staff are working tirelessly to get to patients as quickly as possible.
"We prioritise our sickest and most severely injured patients. Everyone who needs an ambulance will get one, but we are incredibly busy."
