Ange has known Eryl the founder of Response Medical & Event Medics Ltd since they were in school, that was a little while ago (we can safely say more than 10 years ago).
They were both in Red Cross in Colwyn Bay, but Eryl decided to make it a career choice seeing as he couldn't have babies! Now these two have decided to help each other in business by promoting each others businesses.
This came from a real need for Guardian Angel Services, as people get older, a fall can make getting back up again a real challenge, not only that, but when they can't be helped to their feet and ambulance is often the only way forward.
This is a chargeable service, but Eryl can usually be on site within the hour, which will be quicker than Glan Clwyd Hospital, who (if you read below) could take 15 hours to get to you just so that you can spend another 4 or more hours in the ambulance outside the hospital!
In Wales, falls are one of the most common reasons for ambulance calls, and the Welsh Government has said the two most common reasons for 999 calls are falls and breathlessness. In 2017/18, the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust received 62,488 calls relating to falls, and 31,042 of those resulted in attendance at a hospital.
Wales-specific figures
The clearest Wales-wide figures I found are these: in 2017/18, 62,488 falls-related calls were received by the Welsh Ambulance Service, with 31,042 hospital attendances.
A later Welsh Government statement said falls are still one of the main reasons for ambulance demand, and it set a target to reduce unnecessary hospital conveyance after falls by 10% by the end of December 2025 and 25% by the end of March 2026.
Older people and falls
For older people specifically, Age Cymru and St John Ambulance Cymru cite estimates that between 230,000 and 460,000 people over 60 fall in Wales each year. St John Ambulance Cymru also says that some of these falls lead to 999 calls, and that almost half of those calls can be treated at home without an emergency ambulance. The Welsh Ambulance falls framework also notes that in 2019, 65% of all incidents received were from patients aged over 55.
What this means
If you mean “how many ambulances are called to an older person who has fallen,” the best published Wales figure I found is the 62,488 falls-related calls in 2017/18, plus the broader estimate that 230,000–460,000 people over 60 fall each year in Wales. If you want, I can turn this into a small table with the latest Wales figures and the source year for each statistic.
Current ambulance handover and A&E wait times at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, North Wales, vary but are often significant. The official live tracker shows the A&E department currently open with 91 total patients and a longest wait time of 0 minutes (likely for highest priority cases), though typical waits can reach several hours. Patients are triaged by clinical need, not arrival order, so seriously ill individuals are seen first.
The official NHS Wales A&E live site (aeinfo.nhs.wales) provides typical time-in-department estimates by location but did not list specific current figures for Glan Clwyd in the fetched data.
Recent Trends
Recent reports show waits frequently exceed 4 hours:
One tracker noted a 240-minute (4-hour) wait recently.
Hourly averages from a sample day reached up to 10 hours 45 minutes, with 114 people waiting at peak.
Up to 15+ hours reported in user posts from 2024-2025.
"Ambulance wait times" often refer to handover delays at the hospital (time for paramedics to offload patients) or total time from call to treatment. Welsh Ambulance Service data shows ongoing pressures, with national targets for 95% of ambulances handed over within 60 minutes, but Glan Clwyd (part of Betsi Cadwaladr UHB) has faced criticism for long delays contributing to A&E queues. For real-time ambulance response stats, check the Welsh Government dashboard at gov.wales/nhs-activity [ from prior].
Check
aeinfo.nhs.wales
or
111.wales.nhs.uk
for the most up-to-date figures, as they update live.
