A NEWPORT man says his 94-year-old mother was forced to wait over three hours in pain for an ambulance that never arrived - and he was then told a hospital was too busy to find her a bed.

After tiring of waiting, Ryan Twist,from Glasllwch, decided to drive mum Sarah to the Royal Gwent Hospital himself- but was told not to because there were no beds available and she would have to sit in a waiting area.

He instead drove her from Rogerstone to Caerphilly Miners hospital, where she will remain for the foreseeable future, receiving treatment for a kidney infection.

Mr Twist blasted the Welsh Ambulance Trust and Aneurin Bevan Health Board for showing his mother a “lack of dignity”.

A doctor was called to The Oaks care home, Rogerstone, on Wednesday because grandmother of five and great grandmother of six, Mrs Twist, hadn’t eaten for two days and was suffering pains in her kidneys.

The GP called an ambulance at around 6.30pm and Mr Twist phoned the ambulance service at 7.30pm and 8.30pm to check where it was.

“They kept telling me my mother was on a waiting list,” said Mr Twist, 62, of Glasllwch Crescent. “By 10pm, I was fed up and phoned the Gwent (hopsital) to say I was bringing her in myself. But they said there were no beds available.”

Mr Twist then drove Mrs Twist to Caerphilly Miners Hospital.

“She was dehydrated, confused and in pain,” said Mr Twist. “Luckily it is just a kidney infection, but it could have been worse, she is 94.”

He added: “What upsets me is how do they prioritise people for ambulances? If someone in Newport city centre fell down drunk, there would be an ambulance there immediately.”

A spokesman for the Aneurin Bevan health board said the Royal Gwent was very busy on Wednesday night.

He added: “We have to ensure patients are placed on the most appropriate ward for their condition. This takes time and when there are surges in demand from time to time there is a longer wait for available beds.”

Doctor Alan Jarrett of the medical centre, Usk, said that people in similar situations should act according to how ill the person is.

He said if they are in need of an oxygen mask and have conditions, such as a bad heart, it is not advisable to move them.

However, with infections such as Mrs Twist’s, he advised people to transport relatives to hospital themselves if possible.