A WOMAN was left lying on the ground waiting for an ambulance for more than an hour, a horrified shopper has said.

Faringdon resident James Donaldson was shopping in town when he saw an elderly woman lying on the ground being looked after by passers-by.

He was shocked to see the woman still lying there an hour later.

It follows a number of incidents in recent weeks, mainly involving elderly people, in which the ambulance service has been deemed slow to react to emergencies.

James said: “I was running late on Friday on my way into Swindon town centre for the bank. I had to get there before it closed at 5pm.

“I exited Debenhams, passed Tesco and cut through to College Street walking up the road as I normally do. Not far into the street, almost opposite the Citizens Advice Bureau, there was a lady on the floor with her feet facing the road and her head being held up under what looked like a rolled up jumper.

“There must have been three people with her, so I assumed help was on its way.”

James continued with his shopping but was horrified to see the woman still lying there when he returned to his car an hour later.

James added: “I am concerned about her safety and as to why emergency services either did not respond or responded after I had passed again.”

Unfortunately, the woman’s identity and condition is not known.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “Managing the demand on the ambulance service across the South West can be very challenging and we must prioritise our responses and our ambulance resources according to clinical need, so that our most poorly patients receive the most urgent response.

“Sometimes this means that less poorly patients do not get the response that we would wish.

“We would ask people to only call 999 in an emergency.”