An elderly shopper who collapsed on a pavement had to wait two and a half hours for an ambulance.
The 80-year-old man had been shopping at Morrisons on Tuesday evening and was found by passers-by lying in the road, reports North Wales Live.
Kim Parker-Garland, who was one of those who came to his aid, said: "By the time I got to him, he'd already been lying there for over an hour by this point it was 10pm.
"There was about nine people around him and nothing turned up so we called again and again, until in desperation the police were called.
"The police said it was a medical issue. The ambulance didn't arrive until 11.20pm, which is appalling I think as this poor man had numerous health problems and had been laying on a pavement for two and a half hours."
Residents on Grosvenor Avenue and Trellewellyn Road, Rhyl, had asked the ambulance service if they could have taken him to hospital themselves, but they were told not to move him.
The 34-year-old added: "I have elderly parents and it breaks my heart to see anything like this, we were told not to move him, otherwise we would have organised our own transport to get him up to A&E."
Lee Brooks, director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We were very sorry to hear about the patient's experience and would like to extend our apologies for his wait for help.
“At the time of this call, all of our resources were committed to other patients either in the community or at hospital emergency departments.
“Our services are currently in high demand; last Wednesday was our busiest day of 2020, second only to New Year’s Day.
“The Welsh Ambulance Service and its NHS Wales partners remain committed to delivering the best service possible through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We would invite the patient, or a representative, to contact us directly so that we can better understand his experience.”
