Mayor's fears for NHS after wife's 14-hour ambulance wait

East Midlands Ambulance Service said it had to prioritise people with life-threatening conditions

A mayor whose wife was left lying on the floor for over 14 hours waiting for an ambulance after a fall has said the NHS is in a "dire" state.

Steve Beasant, mayor of North East Lincolnshire, said his wife then faced a further 22-hour wait for a bed.

The Liberal Democrat councillor's comments came as senior doctors said the NHS was on a knife-edge.

East Midlands Ambulance Service said it had to prioritise patients "with life-threatening conditions".

Mr Beasant said his wife had fallen at their home in Grimsby on Thursday morning and he was unable to lift her.

"At 8pm, we phoned the ambulance service and they told us at the time it was a 14-hour wait," he said.

"The next day, the ambulance arrived at 10:30am and she eventually got into A&E at 2pm that afternoon and she was waiting for a bed in a ward after that.

"She did not get into a ward until midday the next day. Absolutely ridiculous."

Mr Beasant, mayor of North East Lincolnshire, said his wife also waited 22 hours for a hospital bed

He said he felt sorry for other patients in the same position, adding: "Where is the accountability for it all?"

Mr Beasant said that as mayor he was expected to be politically neutral, but he urged politicians to visit their local hospitals and "just see the state they are in".

"I would urge any cabinet minister to just get around and see the crisis in the NHS. It is dire," he said.

East Midlands Ambulance Service said prioritising people with "life-threatening conditions and severe injuries" did mean that "less seriously unwell patients will need to wait longer if they are unable to make their own way to receive treatment".

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust also offered its "sincere apologies" for Mrs Beasant's long wait to get to hospital.

A trust spokesperson added that emergency departments were "exceptionally busy", with "high numbers" of patients attending.

The government said the NHS was facing an "unprecedented challenge", but insisted it was doing "everything possible" to ease pressure.