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| Seriously ill wait more than hour for ambulance | Seriously ill wait more than hour for ambulance |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Heart attack, stroke and burns victims are among the seriously ill and injured patients waiting over an hour for an ambulance to arrive in England and Wales, a BBC investigation shows. | Heart attack, stroke and burns victims are among the seriously ill and injured patients waiting over an hour for an ambulance to arrive in England and Wales, a BBC investigation shows. |
| The delays for these 999 calls - meant to be reached in 18 minutes on average - put lives at risk, experts say. | The delays for these 999 calls - meant to be reached in 18 minutes on average - put lives at risk, experts say. |
| The problems affect one in 16 "emergency" cases in England - with significant delays reported in Wales. | The problems affect one in 16 "emergency" cases in England - with significant delays reported in Wales. |
| NHS bosses blamed rising demand and delays handing over patients at A&E. | NHS bosses blamed rising demand and delays handing over patients at A&E. |
| Many ambulance services have increased staffing - only to find the extra resource largely being swallowed up by the rise in delays faced by crews queuing outside hospitals. | Many ambulance services have increased staffing - only to find the extra resource largely being swallowed up by the rise in delays faced by crews queuing outside hospitals. |
| This has meant they have had to prioritise the most serious "immediately life-threatening" cases, such as cardiac arrests. | This has meant they have had to prioritise the most serious "immediately life-threatening" cases, such as cardiac arrests. |
| But these represent just a small proportion of the high-priority 999 calls. | But these represent just a small proportion of the high-priority 999 calls. |
| Some of the longest waits for the next most serious level of calls, including those having fits as well as heart attack, stroke and burns victims, exceeded five hours. | Some of the longest waits for the next most serious level of calls, including those having fits as well as heart attack, stroke and burns victims, exceeded five hours. |
| 'My partner died while waiting' | 'My partner died while waiting' |
| Derrin Cozart, 55, was at home in Northumberland on his own last year when he collapsed. He came to and rang 999. | Derrin Cozart, 55, was at home in Northumberland on his own last year when he collapsed. He came to and rang 999. |
| That was the last time anyone spoke to him. | That was the last time anyone spoke to him. |
| It was over an hour before an ambulance crew arrived. By the time they did, he was dead. | It was over an hour before an ambulance crew arrived. By the time they did, he was dead. |
| He had suffered a gastrointestinal haemorrhage, which causes internal bleeding. | He had suffered a gastrointestinal haemorrhage, which causes internal bleeding. |
| Thirty minutes after his call the ambulance service had rung back, but could not get hold of him. | Thirty minutes after his call the ambulance service had rung back, but could not get hold of him. |
| It took another 48 minutes for paramedics to reach him - two crews had to be diverted while they were on their way. | It took another 48 minutes for paramedics to reach him - two crews had to be diverted while they were on their way. |
| His partner, Mark Mitchell, was out of the country on business at the time. | His partner, Mark Mitchell, was out of the country on business at the time. |
| "It was devastating. I've been left wondering if the ambulance had got there more quickly he may have survived. | "It was devastating. I've been left wondering if the ambulance had got there more quickly he may have survived. |
| "We just don't know - and that's heartbreaking." | "We just don't know - and that's heartbreaking." |
| The North East Ambulance Service said a full investigation was being carried out into the case. | The North East Ambulance Service said a full investigation was being carried out into the case. |
| Patients 'let down badly' | Patients 'let down badly' |
| The BBC investigation, which used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain data, has also uncovered other worrying cases. | |
| These include 70-year-old Dave Jones, from Shropshire, who waited more than two hours for paramedics to arrive after suffering a heart attack. | |
| His daughter, Rebecca Jones, said they were "frantic with worry" while they waited for the ambulance. | |
| "We called back several times to check he had not been forgotten. The NHS is just so stretched - the staff are doing the best they can in impossible circumstances." | |
| In a joint statement, the hospital and ambulance trust apologised for the delays. | |
| Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said patients were being "let down badly at their moment of greatest need" and getting a quick response could be "a matter of life or death". | Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said patients were being "let down badly at their moment of greatest need" and getting a quick response could be "a matter of life or death". |
| She said the delays were "undoubtedly" related to the sustained underfunding of the NHS. | She said the delays were "undoubtedly" related to the sustained underfunding of the NHS. |
| Mark MacDonald, of the Stroke Association, described the findings as "alarming", saying a quick assessment and transfer to hospital for brain scans was vital if a patient was going to make a good recovery. | Mark MacDonald, of the Stroke Association, described the findings as "alarming", saying a quick assessment and transfer to hospital for brain scans was vital if a patient was going to make a good recovery. |
| "When stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. Around two million neurons are lost every minute that a stroke is untreated." | "When stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. Around two million neurons are lost every minute that a stroke is untreated." |
| How many long waits are there? | How many long waits are there? |
| The BBC asked for long waits for the two highest priority groups of 999 calls - the immediately life-threatening category ones and the emergency category two cases - from the start of 2018 when a new system of measuring response times came in. | The BBC asked for long waits for the two highest priority groups of 999 calls - the immediately life-threatening category ones and the emergency category two cases - from the start of 2018 when a new system of measuring response times came in. |
| Two of England's 10 ambulance services - the West Midlands and East of England - refused to provide the information. | Two of England's 10 ambulance services - the West Midlands and East of England - refused to provide the information. |
| Long waits for immediately life-threatening cases were unusual - just one in 270 cases took longer than 30 minutes to reach. That works out at less than 40 a week. | Long waits for immediately life-threatening cases were unusual - just one in 270 cases took longer than 30 minutes to reach. That works out at less than 40 a week. |
| But the records for category two call logs showed long waits for these emergencies were much more common. | But the records for category two call logs showed long waits for these emergencies were much more common. |
| The data showed there were 385,000 waits of over an hour from January 2018 to September 2019 out of just over six million incidents responded to. | The data showed there were 385,000 waits of over an hour from January 2018 to September 2019 out of just over six million incidents responded to. |
| That works out at more than 4,000 a week on average - or one in 16 calls. | That works out at more than 4,000 a week on average - or one in 16 calls. |
| East Midlands Ambulance Service had the greatest number of long delays - one in eight calls took over an hour. | East Midlands Ambulance Service had the greatest number of long delays - one in eight calls took over an hour. |
| Director of operations Ben Holdaway said crews were often facing long waits at A&E to hand over patients which means they "haven't been able to get back on the road quickly". | Director of operations Ben Holdaway said crews were often facing long waits at A&E to hand over patients which means they "haven't been able to get back on the road quickly". |
| "Every part of the system wants to tackle these issues, but it's clear we need more staff and beds and well-functioning social care." | "Every part of the system wants to tackle these issues, but it's clear we need more staff and beds and well-functioning social care." |
| In Wales there were more than 1,000 cases a week on average - nearly a quarter of callouts - although their second-tier emergency calls category is a little broader than England's and includes less urgent cases like diabetes complications which could account for some of the long waits. | In Wales there were more than 1,000 cases a week on average - nearly a quarter of callouts - although their second-tier emergency calls category is a little broader than England's and includes less urgent cases like diabetes complications which could account for some of the long waits. |
| Lee Brooks, from the Welsh Ambulance Service, accepted that some patients were waiting too long, describing it as as "frustrating for staff as it is for patients". | Lee Brooks, from the Welsh Ambulance Service, accepted that some patients were waiting too long, describing it as as "frustrating for staff as it is for patients". |
| Ministers are in the process of setting up a taskforce to tackle the delays. | Ministers are in the process of setting up a taskforce to tackle the delays. |
| Comparable data was not available in Scotland or Northern Ireland. | Comparable data was not available in Scotland or Northern Ireland. |
| NHS national ambulance adviser Anthony Marsh said: "It is not easy to reach everyone as quickly as we would all like. All our staff are working flat out." | NHS national ambulance adviser Anthony Marsh said: "It is not easy to reach everyone as quickly as we would all like. All our staff are working flat out." |
| The Department of Health and Social Care in England said the government was increasing funding for the health service and had set aside a dedicated pot to invest in ambulance services. | The Department of Health and Social Care in England said the government was increasing funding for the health service and had set aside a dedicated pot to invest in ambulance services. |
| It also said it was investing in the workforce - from September student paramedics will be entitled to a £5,000-a-year grant to support them during their studies. | It also said it was investing in the workforce - from September student paramedics will be entitled to a £5,000-a-year grant to support them during their studies. |
| Data analysis by Felix Stephenson and Christine Jeavans | Data analysis by Felix Stephenson and Christine Jeavans |