A FAMILY were "disgusted" after a father with two broken arms was left waiting more than an hour for an ambulance.

Ashleigh Kelly, of Poole, said her sister and family were visiting from Manchester on Tuesday, August 7, when her brother-in-law Aaron Wrigley tumbled over a fence in Hamworthy Park and broke both his arms.

They called South Western Ambulance Service and were told a vehicle was on its way, but Mr Wrigley was left waiting in considerable pain for an hour and a half, they said.

"It was disgusting and ridiculous," said Ashleigh, who is training to be a midwife and said she does not blame "front line" staff.

"It was obvious he broke his left arm, it was shaped like an 'S'.

"I called an ambulance and was told it was on its way. After 40 minutes and no sign of it I called back, at this point he was now in shock and said he could no longer feel his other arm.

"He was shaking and we were not allowed to give any pain relief.

"Again I was told it was on its way. After one and a half hours since my first phone call to 999 they called me and said 'we have been diverted twice, can you take him to A&E yourself'.

"I didn't have my car so they sent a taxi which they paid for."

Mr Wrigley had an operation in Poole Hospital on Friday. Both his arms were broken in the fall. His wife, Stacey, said her biggest complaint about the delay was that they were not informed, as people in the area had offered to drive them to the hospital.

The family also praised staff at Hamworthy Park Café and at the hospital for their help and hard work.

Ashleigh said: "There's not enough funding for the NHS anymore, it is completely overstretched and the front line people get the blame.

"Something needs to change sooner rather than later."

South Western Ambulance Service said the calls from Ms Kelly were triaged but the injury was not categorised as high priority, hence a taxi was offered.

The trust says this is "not uncommon" and it has agreements with taxi firms as a "cost-effective alternative to an ambulance".

A spokesman said: "South Western Ambulance Service would like to apologise that we were unable to reach this gentleman more quickly.

"At the time of this call there were several serious life-threatening, time-critical incidents in the Poole area – such as those in cardiac arrest or having a stroke.

"Managing the demand on the ambulance service across the South West can be very challenging.

"Whilst we will always strive to reach our patients in a timely manner, we must prioritise those with the greatest clinical need.

"Sometimes this means that less poorly patients do not get the response that we would wish or they may receive an appropriate alternative means of transport to a treatment centre."