Heart attack victims in Milton Keynes forced to wait nearly an hour for an ambulance, shocking new data reveals

Lives are being put at risk with potential heart attack victims in Milton Keynes being forced to wait nearly an hour for an ambulance, say councillors.

New data published by NHS England shows Category 2 patients -which include life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and strokes - are waiting on average 54 minutes for an ambulance in the South Central region.

The target response time set by the NHS for Category 2 calls is 18 minutes. This means the target is currently being missed by more than half an hour.

Only last month, data obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats revealed the average wait time for Category 2 calls was 25 minutes.

Now at 54 minutes, this shows the wait time has more than doubled.

Meanwhile, the average ambulance response time for Category 1 calls, which are the most urgent and life-threatening, was recorded as over 10 minutes in December.

Information received by the Liberal Democrats last month revealed the previous wait time was nearly eight minutes. This shows delays are becoming progressively worse.

Councillor Jane Carr, MK’s Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Public Health said: “To wait nearly an hour for an ambulance is unacceptable. Patients with life-threatening conditions are having to wait far too long for emergency care and this is putting their lives at risk. The people of Milton Keynes deserve better.”

Liberal Democrat Leader on Milton Keynes City Council, Councillor Robin Bradburn said: “Yet again, the Conservative government have failed to tackle the problem head on. I feel it for the patients who are left waiting for treatment and for the staff who are overwhelmed and tasked with the impossible job of trying to provide the same standard of care with twice as many patients.

"I am urging the government to fix the problem by recruiting extra paramedics and the ambulance staff that we desperately need.”

Last month South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, the service that serves Milton Keynes, declared a critical incident because it was under so much pressure.

999 calls were up 50% from the same time the previous year and 111 calls rocketed by 75%.