Mid Wales campaigners have condemned the treatment of a stroke patient who waited five hours for an ambulance.

The elderly Newtown woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, suffered from a posterior stroke, which required urgent treatment to prevent long-term damage.

The woman collapsed at 11am on 31 October but wasn’t attended by an ambulance until nearly 4pm.

She then waited in the back of the ambulance at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital for a further eight hours before she was admitted to A&E - being told by staff that stroke ward beds were “like gold dust”.

Joy Jones, Powys Councillor of 13 years, said: “The family are absolutely distraught.

“They feel let down.

“You’ve got a family member needing urgent care - you need it now.

“The fear is unbelievable; you don’t want to lose your loved one, no matter what.

“They’ve been totally let down by the system.

“They’re not the only ones. I’ve been contacted by so many people.”

The woman fell ill that morning with slurred speech, a limp arm and drooping smile.

Emergency services confirmed it as a stroke and told the family that an ambulance would be there “within the hour” but no one came.

Her condition worsened, her legs failing and vision fading.

At 12.32pm they called again and were told help was on the way, but no one arrived.

In desperation, the family rushed to their GP but were told they needed an ambulance.

According to the family, when the paramedics arrived close to 4pm, they were stunned: “This should have been a priority”.

They were told the type of stroke meant “every minute counts”.

Arriving at Telford, she sat in the back of an ambulance for eight hours “without a pillow” waiting for an MRI scan before being taken to an A&E cabin.

According to Cllr Jones, her speech has “slightly” returned, but is struggling to walk: “The damage is permanent”.

She said in the context of the Welshpool Air Ambulance base closure set for 2026, and the proposals to downgrade the stroke ward in Bronglais, “people are absolutely desperate now.

“Our NHS is broken and people are feeling the effects.

“Our wait lists are so long that people are dying.

“Here in Powys we’ve got to wait or go to England - it feels like discrimination.”

Lisa Francis from campaign group Protect Bronglais Services said this “harrowing” case proved the changes to Bronglais “simply won’t work with an overstretched ambulance service”, describing the proposers as “out of touch with the reality of what’s happening on the ground.”

Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, apologised for the patient's admission time, adding that 40 acute assessment places are opening in Telford and 56 new inpatient beds at Shrewsbury.

Welsh Ambulance Service Powys Head of Service Jeff Morris met with Cllr Jones to discuss a new system coming into effect which will “get patients the right response for their need, including in rural communities where it inevitably can take us longer to reach patients”.