The regions of England where patients wait longest for an ambulance
Some patients across England waited more than two day for an ambulance to arrive, according to data collected by Labour from Freedom of Information requests.
People suffering a heart attack or a stroke in the East Midlands were left waiting more than 26 hours for an ambulance in December, according to the new figures.
Patients waiting for a category 2 response in the West Midlands should usually only have to wait 18 minutes before an ambulance arrives.
However, the figures released by Labour showed some patients waited more than 21 hours before one arrived.
Patients in Yorkshire also had to wait more than 21 hours before receiving help.
Heart attacks and strokes are considered category 2 calls, the second most severe call.
Category 3 calls should be reached within two hours. They are classed as urgent but are not immediately life-threatening, with problems including a diabetes issue or requirement for pain control to relieve suffering.
The longest a person waited for an ambulance to respond to a category 3 call was 65 hours, 38 minutes and 13 seconds in the North West.
Figures from half of England's ambulance trusts show some patients in the South West had to wait 40 hours in the back of an ambulance before being admitted.
In the East of England a patient nearly had to wait 36 hours before receiving care from a hospital. While another in the West Midlands had to wait 32 hours in the back of an ambulance.
NHS England data shows that, on average, people waiting for a response to a category 2 call in December waited one hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds.
Wait times for an ambulance January improved compared to December, to an average response time of 39 minutes and 33 seconds. However, this was still above the 18-minute target.
Meanwhile, from December 1 to February 28, some 129,023 people waited more than an hour in ambulances outside hospitals.
'Handover delays are not an ambulance and hospital only issue and concern.'
East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "Together with the UK ambulance sector and wider NHS and social care system, East Midlands Ambulance Service continues to experience unprecedented high demand.
"Delays at hospital impact on the ambulance services ability to get to patients waiting for a 999 response in the community, often without the presence of a clinical professional on scene.
"In December 2022 we lost 27,541 hours to hospital handover delays - by far the most hours we have ever lost in one month.
"This equates to 74 twelve-hour shifts a day, which is equivalent to 74 ambulance staff members coming to work but being detained at hospital for the full shift, caring for patients on the back of ambulances or in hospital corridors.
"Handover delays are not an ambulance and hospital only issue and concern; they are a symptom of wider pressures across the NHS and social care systems, and both are working together to address staffing pressures and wellbeing whilst identifying ways of improving patient flow to reduce the negative impact on patient safety and wellbeing."
A West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS)spokesman said: "Sadly, last winter, we saw some patients wait a very long time for ambulances to arrive as a result of long hospital handover delays.
"The pressures in health and social care meant that when our crews arrived at A&E they were unable to handover patients to hospital staff and therefore couldn't respond to the next patient in the community."
WMAS hopes to continue working to turn ambulances around quickly to help more people.
"There has been a significant improvement since the turn of the year with delays reduced at hospitals across the region, which has allowed ambulances to get to patients more quickly than we have seen for many months.
"The Trust has worked exceptionally hard to find solutions until hospital delays reduce back to pre-pandemic levels."
The trust says delays this month, in April, are looking to be smallest since May 2021.
Labours shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "Patients can no longer trust that an ambulance will reach them in an emergency.
"Stroke and heart attack victims are left waiting for hours, when every second counts."
"Patients should be able to phone 999, safe in the knowledge that they will get an answer and an ambulance when they need it. The longer we give the Conservatives in office, the longer patients will wait.
NHS Providers chief executive Sir Julian Hartley said: "These figures are further evidence, were it needed, that last winter was one of toughest on record for the NHS.
"Trust leaders will be very concerned by these wait times as ensuring timely, high-quality care for patients is their top priority.
"The causes of long ambulance waits are complex. High demand - always at its worst in winter - along with overstretched capacity and vast workforce shortages all contribute.
"Trust leaders are working extremely hard to recover urgent and emergency care services and develop community and mental health support to ensure patients can access the care they need swiftly in the right setting. However, they desperately need action on a national level to help tackle these problems.
"The Government's promised long-term workforce plan, which must be fully funded and costed, should help address these issues. It cannot come a minute too soon."
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