Ambulance times now worst on record

ONE in 10 people were left waiting for ambulances for more than three-and-ahalf hours after falling seriously ill - with the likes of hearts attacks, strokes and sepsis - as response times fell to the worst on record.

The average response time in December for ambulances dealing with the most urgent incidents, such as cardiac arrests, was 10 minutes and 57 seconds, NHS England data shows.

Set against a target of seven minutes, it is the worst performance on record.

For category two calls, such as suspected strokes, heart attacks, burns and epilepsy, ambulances took an average of one hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds to respond.

That is the longest on record and well above the target of 18 minutes.

Ambulances should respond to 90% of category two calls in 40 minutes.

But the latest data shows one in 10 people (10%) waited at least three hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds for a response.