Following The Chronicle’s reports of the failing system at The Grange Hospital, a local man has revealed his personal experiences of coping with a health emergency.

Brian Lewis, was left furious after having to watch his wife Naomi suffer as a result of what he describes as NHS incompetence.

Brian explained that on October 2 at around 11am, Naomi fell on the road outside their home near Brynmawr. Due to the incredible amount of pain she was in, she could not be moved.

Emergency services were called at 11.15am and Brian was told it would some time before an ambulance could arrive.

Over the next few hous Naomi’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she was losing consciousness and becoming more unwell.

Having called 999 on several occasions at this point, Brian was advised by a responder to find the nearest defibrillator, as his wife’s case was upgraded to the highest grade.

In spite of the obvious urgency of the situation, they were told that there might still be a wait of up to four hours as there was no ambulance available.

Wth Naomi unable to be moved from the middle of the road, Brian struggled to keep her warm with neighbours stepping in to provide extra blankets and hot water bottles.

“ Without their support the situation would have been a whole lot worse,” said a grateful Brian.

Eventually, after a seven hour wait, the first response paramedic finally arrived on the scene with some pain relief, having travelled from out of the area.

Although the initial pain relief did not have much effect on Naomi, Brian was grateful that help had finally arrived, with the paramedic staying with the couple until the ambulance finally arrived two hours later after an horrific nine hour wait for the couple.

By the time the ambulance finally got to Naomi it was dark, very cold and she was shaking from both the temperature and shock from the amount of pain she was in.

She was swiftly taken care of by the paramedics who Brian said “were second to none,”

While Naomi finally had the emergency help she needed, her problems were far from over as she had to spend more than four more hours in the ambulance outside The Grange A&E before being taken into into the hospital to have a pain blocking injection.

It later transpired that Naomi had broken both her leg and hip and had an emergency operation the following day.

Speaking about this horrific experience, Brian said, “I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering my wife endured while being on the road nine hours waiting for the ambulance, with the injuries she had sustained.

This is not a reflection of the staff because they were incredible. This is an indication of how broken the system is. To say we are feel let down with our services is an understatement.”