Powys patients have been made to wait more than a day from calling 999 to getting into hospital the County Times can reveal.

Data released to the County Times in a freedom of information request revealed one Welsh patient this year had to wait over 25 hours from calling 999 before they were admitted to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The Welsh Ambulance Service data reveals that each month for the last year at least one Welsh patient admitted to Royal Shrewsbury hospital – who are almost exclusively from Powys – have waited at least 15 and half hours for admittance after calling 999 for an ambulance.

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It reveals in some months the wait has been even longer with one patient in June waiting for 20 hours, another patient this time last year waiting 22 hours and one in January waiting for 25 hours and 11 minutes.

The data also revealed the average handover time for patients when an ambulance from Wales got to the hospital. This was never less than over an hour with times reaching their slowest point last year where the average wait was 1 hour and 50 minutes.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said such waits were "not acceptable”.

Lee Brooks, acting Chief Executive at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "The impact of hospital handover delays is well-documented, not just in Wales, but across the border in England and the rest of the UK.

“Neither a 25-hour period from calling 999 to hospital handover, or an average handover at hospital approaching two hours is acceptable for patients, or our staff.

“We recognise the challenges of response times in rural areas, which often necessitate a long journey to hospital.

“This is why we are actively looking at what we can do to use the skills of our people differently, to ensure that fewer patients need to travel to hospital and care for more effectively at home or in the community.”

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Royal Shrewsbury Hospital could not comment on the figures but said turnaround times were improving at the hospital.

Sara Biffen, Acting Chief Operating Officer for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "We are sorry if patients are having to wait a long time at our emergency departments (ED).

"We have seen an improvement in ambulance handover times and continue to work with partners across the system to improve our urgent and emergency care, which includes improving discharge.”