More than 4,000 sick patients have had to wait for more than an hour outside hospitals in ambulances, the Manchester Evening News can reveal.
The startling figures from official NHS statistics come as NHS bosses prepare for further ambulance service strike action in Greater Manchester next week, with members of the GMB and Unison unions due to walk out on Wednesday.
A week later, members of the Royal College of Nursing are due to strike on January 18 and 19, affecting the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust in Greater Manchester.