'Shocking' figures reveal longest ambulance delays amid 'postcode lottery' as patients wait over seven minutes for emergency call-outs in Portsmouth

Potential heart attack and stroke victims in the worst hit areas are now waiting an average of one hour and 40 minutes for paramedics to arrive. In Portsmouth, patients waited an average of seven minutes and five seconds for Category 1 calls. In Mid Devon patients waited an average of 15 minutes and 20 seconds minutes for Category 1 calls, the longest in the country, compared to five minutes and 48 seconds in Hammersmith, which had the lowest response time.

SEE ALSO: Ghost hunters spot spooky reflection

In Fareham, patients waited eight minutes and 24 seconds with call-outs for Gosport just a second longer. Havant saw an average of eight minutes and 40 seconds.

The figures, uncovered by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests, reveal how patients whose lives are in immediate danger are waiting three times longer in some rural areas than urban ones. Figures were provided by all 10 ambulance trusts in England, revealing local figures on response times that aren’t published in the regular region-wide data. The research covers 227 local areas in England, showing the worsening picture across the country.

Of these, all but two are failing to reach the 18-minute target for Category 2 calls which can include heart attack and stroke victims. Portsmouth saw an average call-out time of 36 minutes and 40 seconds while Fareham was a minute longer, Havant 38 minutes and 54 seconds, and Gosport 40 minutes and 59 seconds.

Overall, 83 per cent of areas missed the seven minute target for the most serious Category 1 calls. Not one area in England achieved the target for both Category 1 and 2 calls.

In 32 local areas, average waits for Category 2 calls which can include heart attack or stroke victims have more than doubled in the past two years. In Cornwall, the average Category 2 wait has more than tripled to one hour and 41 minutes, up from 32 minutes two years ago.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokeswoman 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 long-term strategy to ensure people can get emergency care when they need it. That means addressing workforce shortages, fixing the social care crisis and ending the shortage of hospital beds, all of which are leaving patients in ambulances stuck outside A&E for hours.’

South Central Ambulance did not respond to a request for comment.