AN angry councillor says the ambulance trust is failing after he had to wait hours when he dislocated his hip.

Nick Turner, a district and town councillor for Frinton, had a hip replacement in March which left him temporarily on crutches.

Later that month, he met with his physiotherapist for the first time at Clacton Hospital before heading to Morrison’s café for a coffee while his wife went shopping.

But after making a “slight movement” Mr Turner’s new hip dislocated leaving him in excruciating pain.

He called for an ambulance but was told he might have to wait five hours.

He said: “I cannot describe the pain - agony only comes close.

“I had a wad of napkins in my mouth to stop me screaming.

“My wife made at least three 999 calls only to be told they had to prioritise and the ambulance could be up to five hours.

“The pain was on the inside of my leg, so I thought if I fell off the chair, or made any sort of movement, I was in danger of affecting the artery.”

Paramedics arrived two and half hours after Mr Turner called and he was given morphine and taken to hospital.

Despite saying the crew was “everything you could hope for and more”, it was not the first time Mr Turner has been dissatisfied with the ambulance response time.

Six months before having his gall bladder removed, it became infected, leaving him in excruciating pain.

After waiting an hour and a half Mr Turner received a call saying an ambulance would not be available so his wife had to take him to Colchester Hospital.

He said: “The ambulance service around here is a failure.

“If you are walking wounded you have to get someone to run you to hospital.

“The East of England Ambulance Trust is not able to do what one expects and pays them to do.”

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “If Mr Turner wishes to pursue his concerns about ambulance waiting times we would encourage him to contact our patient experience team on 0800 028 3382 or 01234 243320.”

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was given an overall rating of “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year.