A dementia sufferer was forced to lie on the floor with a suspected broken hip for more than 17 hours waiting for an ambulance.
Great-gran Jean Burgess, 90, suffered a painful fall while walking to her room at Trinity Lodge care home in Coventry.
Staff feared she may have broken bones and a suffered a possible brain injury and called an ambulance at 10.30am last Tuesday.
Jean, who has six grown-up children, 20 grandchildren and one great-grandchildren, was left in agony while ambulance crews attended other emergencies.
The retired lollipop lady was forced to wet herself while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Paramedics finally attended the care home at 3.45am on Wednesday, 17 hours and 15 minutes after the initial 999 call.
She was taken to hospital where doctors discovered she had suffered severe bruising but no broken bones.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said delays were caused after responding to more than 6,000 call-outs during last Tuesday's heatwave.
But her son-in-law, Peter Garbett, 69, said the delay was "unacceptable".
He said: "Because she had been on the floor for so long, she couldn't get to the toilet. I was with her on the floor when she wet herself.
"She was a child evacuee during the war and to now think she is in this position was very upsetting.
"While the 17-hour wait was unacceptable, I am not out to blame either the care home or West Midlands Ambulance Service.
"The care home staff followed all their procedures and supported her as best they could."
Mr Garbett, a retired postman, was at the theatre when the care home called him to tell him about his mother-in-law's fall.
He added: "She had thought that she had fractured her hip. At 1.30am, there was still no sign of the ambulance.
"Whilst I understand the West Midlands Ambulance Service are under a great amount of pressure, why couldn't they have arranged for the fire brigade come out to help? Or at least sent a first aid responder.
"Maybe it wasn't an emergency because it wasn't life threatening at the time but it was a humanitarian service that was required.
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"They could have arrived and this whole issue could have been dealt with in 20 minutes or so.
"It was distressing to see her in so much discomfort.
"The paramedics arrived at 3.45am on Wednesday morning - a full 17-hours after the fall - and was taken to hospital for a check-up.
"She had to have a brain scan but the doctors told us she had no breakages, just bruising and was released from hospital later that day.
"I do not want this to happen again."
Jean has been living in the care home since the death of her husband Tom in December 2019, after 74 years of marriage.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has now "apologised wholeheartedly" to the family.
A spokesperson said: "We continue to sigh high levels of demand for our service and our staff are working tirelessly to get to patients as quickly as possible."
