Patients are being forced to wait up to an hour and a half for 999 calls to be answered, new figures show. And those phoning 111 are waiting up to three hours before the phone is picked up.
As the NHS faces a mounting crisis, data shows patients are also facing record-long waits for ambulances. Figures for December revealed it took an average of 90 minutes for ambulances to reach those with conditions such as heart attacks and strokes – despite the NHS recommending help within 18 minutes.
