A pensioner who fell and broke his arm was left to lie in the road in heavy rain for for almost two hours before an ambulance arrived.
Witnesses rushed to the aid of 76-year-old Michael Foy and called him an ambulance after he fell in a street in Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent.
A non-emergency ambulance was flagged down around half-an-hour later but staff were told not to move him, StrokeonTrent Live reports.
An ambulance to take him to hospital finally arrived at 3.24pm - almost two hours after the first call was made at 1.19pm.
Mr Foy was treated for a broken arm at Royal Stoke University Hospital. He also sustained grazes to his knee, elbow, leg and shoulder.
Now the pensioner - who was categorised as a category three patient - is calling for the system to be changed so the elderly are not left lying in a road for so long.
A category three means it is 'urgent but not life threatening' and promises a response within 120 minutes.
Mr Foy said: “When the ambulance arrived, the paramedic said, ‘I am so sorry we were so long but you are category three’.
"I do not really class myself as vulnerable but I should be. If it had been anyone else it could have cost them their lives. A 76-year-old should not be category three when he is lying in the road in the rain.
“It is a disgrace. It is not down to the people. It is the system. They need more ambulances on duty at this time of the year.
“It was my own fault that I fell but I should not have had to wait so long. They should have come and checked me over."
He added: “I do not want it to happen to anyone else. I do not want to see anyone die as a result of the system being flawed.”
While he waited, kind strangers tried to make him as comfortable as possible.
“A van driver made me a pillow and covered me with his jacket. He blocked the road off because I was in the road," he said.
“I was walking my dog Millie when my ankle went over and I fell forward. I tried to save myself but could not and collapsed in the street.
"My feet were in the gutter and my head was in the road. I literally could not get up. I was in excruciating pain. The dog had run off.
“A woman stopped with me until the end, in the wind and rain."
My Foy's arm is now in a sling following the fall on December 19.
His horrified wife Doreen, 66, added: “It is a disgrace that he was left to lie on the road for so long.
"It was a surreal experience. I could not believe it. We could not believe the ambulance was taking so long."
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On this particular day, the service was exceptionally busy and received 7.7 per cent more 999 calls than expected.
“We received a second 999 call at 2.15pm and, at 3.12pm, a paramedic from the control room called back to apologise for the delay and establish if the patient’s condition had worsened.
"The paramedic was advised that bystanders had flagged down a non-emergency ambulance who rendered aid to the patient until an ambulance arrived at 3.24pm.
“We always try to reach patients as quickly as possible, however calls are always prioritised to ensure we reach the most serious patients first.”
