Average response time for ambulances in Aylesbury's region reaches nearly an hour

New figures reveal that ambulance response times to emergency 999 calls are consistently exceeding government pledges in Aylesbury' s region.

Within the South Central Ambulance Region which covers Aylesbury, the average response time for Category 2 calls (emergency calls involving a serious condition that may require rapid assessment and/or urgent transport, such as a stroke or chest pain) was 53:49, nearly triple the 18-minute target.

Overall, 122 patients in Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust spent more than 30 minutes waiting to be handed over from an ambulance to A&E last week – 57 of them were waiting for more than an hour.

In response to yesterday's figures (December 13), Aylesbury Liberal Democrats has called on the Government to bring in the army to help drive ambulances in the area.

Liberal Democrats advise that South Central Ambulance Trust is now at REAP Level 4 - the highest alert level, indicating 'extreme pressure' on its services.

Councillor Susan Morgan said: “People in Aylesbury are watching loved ones in agony and distress, waiting hours for an ambulance or stuck in the back of one outside our local hospital. Some have even watched them die. This is heartbreaking and it can not go on.

“The Conservatives have run our NHS services in Aylesbury into the ground, breaking waiting time promises for years and years.

“Our plan would relieve some of the immediate pressure and help fix the ambulance crisis for good, so that the people of Aylesbury know that they can get to hospital in an ambulance

and receive the care they deserve when they need to.

"I have also called for a review at Buckinghamshire Council into our GP practices. The shortage of GP appointments is adding further pressure onto our ambulance service as people have no other choice but to use them.”

The party has compiled a five-point plan to lower ambulance delays and improve waiting times.

New funding, recruitment campaigns and additional training, a new waiting time law and an inquiry into current ambulance delays are among the group's suggestions to the government.