‘Staff doing all they can under enormous pressure’

A SPOKESPERSON for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our ambulance clinicians strive every day to give their best to patients, but our performance hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, partly due to handover delays at emergency departments. Health and social care services are under enormous pressure. We’re working with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service.”

Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “These heart-breaking figures show that in every corner of the country, targets are being missed and patients are being left waiting far too long for an ambulance to arrive. This stark postcode lottery means that if you suffer a heart attack or stroke, your chances of getting to hospital on time depend on where you happen to live. Every day we hear more and more devastating stories of pensioners left stranded for hours, or families watching a loved one die before a paramedic could reach them. Our overstretched local NHS services are collapsing under the strain of years of neglect under this Conservative government. Ministers must bring forward extra support to get ambulance services through winter as well as a strategy to ensure people get emergency care when they need it.”