A 95-year-old woman who was left lying on the floor for 13 hours as she waited for an ambulance had to be given water via a wet tissue by her family before help finally arrived.
Joan Massey, who is blind, was left in fear and agony after she fell at her home in Birmingham on November 23.
After the pensioner was discovered by her daughter Helen Brooks, the emergency services were called at 10.15am
But it was not until 11.15pm that paramedics finally arrived to the property.
West Midlands Ambulance Service have since apologised, and said it is dealing with high levels of demand.
Her daughter-in-law Wendy Massey, 72, said: 'She was on the ground for more than 13 hours.
Helen Brooks, 95, was left waiting for an ambulance for 13 hours after she fell at her home in Birmingham on November 23
'Though we have no idea actually how long she was down before that. She does wear a helpline around her neck, but being in the situation she had clearly forgotten she had it.
'I was in the twilight shift when the ambulance came. She had been found at about 10ish in the morning on the floor, but we have no idea how long she was on the floor before my sister-in-law Helen Brooks found her.
'Helen rang 999 at about quarter past ten, and was with her the whole time. Obviously Joan was uncomfortable for a lot of that time and wanted to move and needed the loo, which is difficult because in that situation you can't be moved.
'She's a blind lady. So she was in a dark world all that time and not knowing what was happening to her. Her hearing is extremely poor as well.'
Wendy said her husband went up around 5pm - seven hours later - and rang the ambulance again.
She added: 'He had to feed her some water with a wet bit of kitchen roll because she was in such an awkward position and so uncomfortable. Eventually he used a tea spoon to feed her some sparkling water too as she was really wanting water.
'Each time we phoned the ambulance they said they were very sorry and that they were busy. We know that and don't expect special treatment - I understand fully that other emergencies take priority.
'But 13 hours! We're actually only about 12 minutes away from the main Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
'She really looked like a frail old lady at that point. My husband called the paramedics again.
'They went through the same set of questions, are they breathing etc, are they short of breath etc - and on the second question this time he said yes, because after that long on the floor, she was breathing slower - so whether that moved us up the list I'm not sure.
'It was about quarter past eleven at night when the paramedics knocked on the door. They were full of apologies, and it is clearly not their fault whatsoever, they are doing their best in very troubled times.
'They dealt with her very quickly. They checked her over and didn't think anything was obviously broken. Then they popped out this lilo thing
