A fall victim had to wait in agony for an ambulance for more than an hour, lying in mud in the pouring rain, with two broken leg bones.
Pensioner Richard Harris, aged 68, who has heart problems, slipped on wet grass and fell outside his house in The Green, Kislingbury, on Saturday evening.
Mr Harris’s wife, Miriam, called 999 shortly after 7pm, but an ambulance did not arrive until 8.15pm.
Mrs Harris, aged 63, said the incident was “degrading” and “disgusting” and she had never seen her husband in such pain. Mr Harris was later taken to Northampton General Hospital for treatment.
Mrs Harris said: “I am furious. He was in terrible pain. I have never known him to scream out in pain like that. It was degrading.
“He was wedged between the village green and his car. The rain was running off him, and he was covered in mud.
“Even the ambulance crew said my husband should have been a priority case. I have no complaints with them at all.
“To lie in a mud puddle for nearly an hour-and-a-half, in the freezing cold, is unacceptable. And they keep saying there are no cuts in the NHS?”
Debbie Tweddle, service delivery manager and paramedic, said: “We are sorry for the delay in our response to Mrs Harris’s 999 call.
“Saturday was a busy day and it was a challenge getting to people who were not in an immediately life-threatening condition as quickly as we wanted.
“To help manage the extra demand we had two ambulance crews from a private company supporting us in Northamptonshire over the weekend.
“One of those crews responded to the call and took Mr Harris to hospital.
“I understand the distress and pain Mr Harris must have experienced and apologise that on this occasion we weren’t able to provide a faster response.”