‘It was terrifying’: GP tells of dash to A&E amid ambulance delays

Yorkshire ambulance service declared a critical incident in December because of extreme pressure on services. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

“The patient was at serious risk of dying in my GP surgery. But there was no ambulance available. So we had to drive her to A&E and hope she didn’t die on the way.”

A GP recalls the dramatic action he took recently for a patient at risk of having a cardiac arrest because she could not breathe.