A gran who survived a cancer battle died in front of her horrified family after waiting more than seven hours for an ambulance.
Tragic Theresa Rowlands, 66, began complaining of sickness, stomach pains and breathing difficulties at home on April 18.
The terrified grandmother-of-three called 999 just after midnight when her condition worsened and then rang her family for help.
Her son Darren Rowlands, 40, said Theresa was initially told it would be a two-hour wait before an ambulance could arrive at her home.
He said Theresa was in “great distress” and claimed they called 999 another six times over the course of the night.
Darren said the Welsh Ambulance Service gave them no assurance paramedics were on their way to her home in Rhiwfawr, South Wales.
By 3am Theresa had deteriorated to the point where she was drifting in and out of consciousness and her pain had become more severe.
Darren said: “They kept on fobbing us off. We couldn’t lift her as she was a dead weight.
“We could sit her up but she would just flop. We couldn’t take her to the toilet - it was just horrendous.
“At about 6am the clock was ticking and we knew she was going. We rang the ambulance again and it was a similar story.
“In my mind she had seconds to live as her breathing was so shallow.
“I’d never seen someone die but you could tell she was coming to the end of her life.
“You can see them give up. But there was still no ETA from the ambulance service.
“It was a Bank Holiday which added to the wait. It’s no excuse but clearly they had limited numbers.”
Grieving Darren said his mum eventually passed away at 6.30am in front of him, her sister Mandy and Mandy’s partner Geraint.
The family had unsuccessfully tried to revive her with CPR and a defibrillator they got from a local business.
It was only at 7.30am that three ambulances all arrived at the same time -by which time it was too late.
“They were embarrassed and apologetic and they tried to resuscitate her, but by that point it was just too late,” said Darren.
Theresa’s furious family have now made an official complaint to bosses at the Welsh Ambulance Service.
They say they do not believe her original 999 call was given the highest level of priority until there was no chance of saving her.
“In my head they didn’t prioritise the first or second calls we made, even though she was struggling with breathing and in a lot of pain,” he said.
“If they’d come after two hours, which is still a ridiculous wait, then my mum would have had a better chance of survival.
“If you looked up ‘Mum’ in the dictionary you’d see a picture of our mother.
“She was the ultimate mum. She would always want to protect us.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service says it is “working closely” with Theresa’s relatives to investigate what happened.
Wendy Herbert, executive director of quality and nursing, said: “We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Rowlands family.
“Significant pressure remains across the urgent and emergency care system.
“Extensive hospital handover delays – coupled with a sharp rise in immediately life-threatening ‘Red’ calls and staff absence exacerbated by Covid-19 – has led to some very long waits for patients in recent months.
“This is absolutely not the service we want to provide and we are genuinely sorry to anyone who has had a poor experience from us.
“We continue to work with Welsh Government and local health board partners to find solutions to these complex and long-standing issues.
“The public can play their part by using NHS services appropriately.
“The NHS 111 Wales website should now be the first port of call for health and information.
“Please only call 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency.”
