A business has apologised for leaving a disabled man stranded for several hours for a second time.

David Slater has been using G4S Patient Transport for Kent and Medway for appointments at King’s College Hospital, London.

The 71-year-old has peripheral diabetic neuropathy, which is nerve damage caused by diabetes.

On July 28, last year, he was waiting for nine-and-a-half hours to be taken home to Longford Close, Rainham.

Mr Slater said: “I have been doing this for the past three years and I have on the whole been satisfied with the service.

“After I was discharged following surgery, the hospital ordered an ambulance to take me home.

“Several further calls were made to the company and I was told an ambulance would be with me at 7.15pm. It didn’t arrive until 10.45pm.”

Mr Slater did not make a complaint on that occasion, thinking it was a one-off incident.

However, last month the same thing happened again at a follow-up appointment.

He was told to wait for the same ambulance which dropped him off to return, but it was then diverted to another hospital.

"When I complained, they said my notes had been marked after the first incident to make sure it wouldn't happen again... well, it did" - David Slater

Five hours after the appointment ended, at 8pm, G4S said a crew would pick him up.

But they didn’t arrive until 10.30pm, seven hours after they were first called.

He said: “I am a patient person and wouldn’t normally say anything but I find this unacceptable to keep a person in a wheelchair who is diabetic and hadn’t eaten all day.

“It was bad management. When I complained, they said my notes had been marked after the first incident to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Well, it did.

“The poor ambulance drivers take the flack but they’re doing as they’re told.”

Mike Woodall, chief operating officer of Patient Transport Services, said: “We regret that Mr Slater experienced a poor service with our non-emergency patient transport services; it was an unfortunate result of human error.

“We have looked into the circumstances that led to this to ensure that we maintain a good service for those who use it.

“We have a good track record of delivering high-quality patient transport services across the country, with over 325,000 journeys completed in Kent last year.

"There is a high demand for our service and the vast majority of our patients make their appointments on time.”