Saturday 11 June 2022 05:04 PM NHS in crisis: Southend man, 89, waits 8 hours in an ambulance to get into A&E trends now Family's horror as 89-year-old injured falling out of his wheelchair queues outside hospital in ambulance for EIGHT hours Roy Clare, 89, from Southend-on-Sea fell from his wheelchair on Tuesday 999 call handlers advised Mr Clare to remain on the floor until help arrived His daughter Diane East was forced to clean up Mr Clare as no ambulance came Three ambulances eventually arrived at his house at 2pm on Thursday By Darren Boyle for MailOnline Published: 16:51 BST, 11 June 2022 | Updated: 17:00 BST, 11 June 2022 Viewcomments An 89-year-old man was told he had to wait 21 hours on the floor for an ambulance after he fell from his wheelchair and cut open his head. Roy Clare, 89, from Southend -on-Sea, Essex rang for an ambulance on Tuesday after the accident at his home. Instead of racing directly to his home, call handlers told Mr Clare to remain on he floor for the ambulance to arrive. Mr Clare's daughter Diane East used her basic nursing skills to clean up her father and put him to bed. Roy Clare, 89, from Southend-on-Sea fell from his wheelchair on Tuesday evening and cut his head Mr Clare, pictured with his daughter Diane East, left, had to wait until 2pm on Thursday for an ambulance to arrive After getting into the ambulance, Mr Clare had to wait a further eight hours outside the hospital to get into A&E Mrs East, pictured with her husband Andrew said her father's ordeal did not end once help arrived as he was forced to spend almost eight hours in the ambulance outside Southend Hospital When Mr Clare arrived at hospital there were 22 ambulances ahead of him in the queue The following day, Mr Clare's condition had deteriorated so his family called 111 for advice who recommended calling him a doctor. When his condition deteriorated further and his breathing became laboured, the doctor arrived on Wednesday evening. The doctor, when considering Mr Clare's previous history of strokes, recommended that he should be admitted to hospital for tests and observation. On Thursday, the family were told there were no ambulances available, but at 2pm three arrived at the same time by mistake. He was taken to Southend Hospital but with 22 ambulances ahead of him, he was forced to wait in the back for a further 8 hours until he was finally admitted to a ward. The massive delay in ambulance times is partly caused by the length of time it takes crews to hand over patients to the A&E department Mrs Ward told ITV News: 'We sent him into a situation where it was even worse. 'Why is there such a bad situation at the hospital?' A spokesperson for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'Our hospitals are experiencing an extremely high demand for their services, with many arriving at A&E by ambulance, reflecting just how busy local NHS and social care providers are. 'We are all working together to respond to this higher demand for services, so that we can provide the best possible care for our patients.' Roy Clare's 48-hour wait to get to hospital TUESDAY EVENING: Roy Clare, 89, falls from his wheelchair and is told theer are no ambulances available for 21 hours. WEDNESDAY MORNING: Family calls 111 and call handler advises them to see a doctor WEDNESDAY EVENING: Doctor arrives and due to Mr Clare's history of strokes, he should be admitted to hospital THURSDAY MORNING: Family told there are still no ambulances 2PM: Three ambulances arrive at his home by mistake 10:15PM: Mr Clare is admitted to A&E Advertisement Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility