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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Nathan Bevan & Andrew Nuttall & Steve Houghton & Nicola Croal

OAP with broken hip 'strapped to plank of wood' in van to hospital amid ambulance shortage

A woman was forced to drive her 89-year-old grandad to hospital while he lay strapped to a plank of wood with a broken hip after they were told no ambulances were available. Nicole Lea discovered her war hero grandfather Melvyn Ryan on the floor of his home in Cwmbran, Wales, having suffered a head and shoulder injury as well as breaking his hip.

However when Nicole rang 999 she was informed by Welsh Ambulance Service there was currently no help available for the OAP, the Daily Star reports. The 27-year-old firefighter - who has been looking after Melvyn since his wife sadly passed away in 2020 from coronavirus - said she 'couldn't really believe what I was being told'.

She was left with no option but to get the pensioner who was in 'agony' onto a plank of wood into the back of her van in order to 'save his life'. She said: "I ended up, with my partner and mum's help, getting him onto a plank of wood and into the back of the van we bought to transport our dogs.

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