Responding to the news that A&E waiting times are worsening and this is impacting ambulance response times, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “These shocking figures show too many people are being left stranded waiting for an ambulance to arrive, waiting in pain and distress for the medical care they need.
“People are being let down by a Conservative Government that is sitting on its hands whilst lives are put at risk due to their incompetence.
“After years of driving the NHS into the ground, the Tories need to set out a credible plan to tackle the multiple crises facing our A&Es, ambulance services, and the chronic staffing shortages across health and care that are leaving patients at risk.”
Ambulance waiting times for life-threatening calls increased to 8 minutes 51 seconds – an average increase of over 20 seconds – from a month earlier (the target time is 7 minutes). Times for emergency calls were over 42 minutes, up from 38 minutes, and more than double the 18 minute target. Urgent calls were at 2 hours 16 minutes, an increase of 20 minutes, and well over the 2 hour target. Read the full story here.