Lives at risk from 'unacceptable' ambulance waits
Lives are at risk because patients are facing unacceptably long waits for a 999 response, paramedics across the UK have told a BBC investigation.
Average waits for emergency callouts for problems such as heart attacks and strokes are taking more than twice as long as they should in England. Targets are being missed in the rest of UK too, with some seriously-ill waiting up to nine hours for an ambulance.
There are numerous investigations ongoing into deaths linked to delays.
The problems have forced all ambulance services to be put on their highest levels of alert - meaning patients who can make their own way to hospital are told to do so. A number of services have also brought in the military to support crews.
The BBC has received reports of numerous serious incidents across the UK.
Margaret Root, 82, waited nearly six hours for an ambulance to come following a stroke, and she then waited for another three hours outside hospital. When she was finally admitted, her family was told it was too late to give her the drugs needed to reverse the effects of the stroke.
Her granddaughter Christina White-Smith said her grandmother had been "hugely let down".
She said she did not blame the staff because they were "amazing" when they got to her grandmother, but said she is angry the NHS is not getting the help it needs.
"I don't think people are aware of the severity of the situation."
Source: BBC News, 11 November 2021