EMERGENCY crews worked for 30 minutes before freeing a man who was impaled on an ornamental bed headboard.

Emergency crews were called to a home in Reid in Canberra's east about 9am (AEDT) on Sunday, the ACT Emergency Services Agency said in a statement.

Paramedics and rescue firefighters found the 60-year-old man impaled in the stomach on an ornamental bed headboard.

They worked for half-an-hour to free the man before taking him to Canberra Hospital in a serious but stable condition.