A woman who waited almost two hours for medical treatment has hit out at the ambulance service.

Nicola Philpot, 29, was left crying on her living room floor as she waited in agony for a paramedic to arrive.

Despite having a suspected case of appendicitis Mrs Philpot of Brambles Close, Chigwell, was told that her call was not being treated as an emergency.

Mrs Philpot, who was finally admitted to hospital in the early hours of yesterday morning, says that she feared for her life as she waited for help.

She said: “I was in absolute agony. They told me that I had to wait for an assessment and a paramedic came out over an hour later.

“He gave me gas and air but it wouldn’t work so he called an ambulance.

“It was between two and three hours from the first call before I was seen at the hospital. It is crazy. I cannot understand how anybody with suspected appendicitis can be left to wait that long.

“They began prepping me to remove my appendix at two o’clock this morning but by 10.30am they said they wanted to do more tests and now I am waiting to see another doctor.

“I just can’t believe it.”

Mr Joseph Philpot, 67, says that he felt helpless as he watched his wife in pain.

He said: “It was horrible. She was in pain and I couldn’t take her anywhere because we have a five month old baby and three other children.

“I suffer from angina and I have used the ambulances a few times, never has it been this bad. What would have happened if her appendix burst? They would not have got here in time.”

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service says that Mrs Philpot was dealt with according to correct protocol for the type of illness which she had.

He said: “The initial 999 call was made at 23.03 and with the information given as abdominal pains, was graded as a Green 4 which requires a physical response within 90 minutes or a call back by one of our highly skilled clinicians within an hour.

“A call-back was made at 23.47, and a rapid response vehicle arrived at 00.07 followed by an ambulance at 00.36. This means the patient was responded to within a time that was clinically appropriate.

“She was being monitored by our staff from the moment the 999 call was made and callers are routinely told to phone back if the patient’s condition worsens. We hope that she’s recovering well.”