The wife of an elderly cancer patient says that nothing has changed since B.C.'s health minister apologized for lengthy wait-times on ambulance transfers.

Tilly Milton says she worries for her husband's health after he's had to wait more than five hours for an ambulance transfer two times this month.

Three times a week, Jim Milton is transferred from Burnaby Hospital in B.C., where he's recovering from cancer surgery, to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster for dialysis.

Tilly says the long delays are beginning to wear on her husband. Although his kidneys are failing, the delays have him contemplating an end to his dialysis.

"He's now beginning to wonder if he can take this," she said. "The dialysis is one thing -- 4.5 hours -- and now anticipating this terrible wait."

After Milton's first long wait, B.C.'s health minister Kevin Falcon said it was a blip, and that Milton's transfer was delayed by more urgent calls.

"Certainly, on behalf of the BC Ambulance Service, we'd like to apologize," Falcon said.

For about a week, Tilly says the service was great, until it happened again last Saturday.

"He got back to Burnaby again at 10 p.m.," she said. "That's five and a half hours for a transfer ambulance."

Tilly fears it could get a lot worse. Next month 10 transfer ambulances will be cut in the Lower Mainland.

On Wednesday, the Health Minister again said he regrets the wait, but there were more urgent calls.

"The hospital did everything to make sure he was properly looked after," Falcon said.

"I think that was appropriate. People have to be realistic and reasonable about what they require out of the medical system."

The NDP health critic, Adrian Dix, says patients deserve better.

"While these kind of services may be both anomalies and extras to Kevin Falcon, they are essential for the proper and efficient functioning of the system," Dix said.

Tilly looks at the money spent on the Olympics and the new roof at BC Place and just shakes her head.

"Somehow there is money out there for all this, but at the expense of health and education. This is totally, totally unacceptable," she said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry