Cwmbran: Man taken to hospital tied to plank dies at 90

Nicole found her grandfather behind the door of his home in December

A grandfather who was taken to hospital strapped to a plank of wood has died shortly after his 90th birthday.

Melvyn Ryan was found by his granddaughter on the floor of his home in Cwmbran in December and was told no ambulances were available to help.

The Suez Crisis veteran had broken his hip and shoulder and was assisted to The Grange Hospital by his family on the plank in the back of a van.

Mr Ryan remained in hospital until his death on 1 February.

At the time, the Welsh Ambulance Service said it was below what it aimed to offer and Wales' health minister Eluned Morgan apologised, saying what happened was "not acceptable".

Mr Ryan's granddaughter Nicole Lea said "everything is still raw" at the moment.

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Melvyn Ryan died in hospital on 1 February

"The original plan was to get him home but he would have needed round-the-clock care, so the decision was made to send him to a hospice," she said.

"But by the time it came to it his condition was just so poor, he wouldn't have made the journey, so we just sat with him in hospital."

Ms Lea said that she was with her grandfather when he died.

When Mr Ryan fell in December there was high demand on the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Ms Morgan said what happened to Mr Ryan was "not acceptable," adding: "I hope people will understand that the reason for that is that the pressure for the service is such that we've never seen before."

Ms Morgan appealed to the public to only call for an ambulance if they "absolutely need to", adding: "We have never seen demand like this on the NHS in its history."

The Welsh Ambulance Service apologised to Mr Ryan at the time and asked the family to contact them so the matter could be investigated.