• Life-threatening cardiac arrests experienced record-breaking wait times.
• A&E wait times of more than 4 hours hit a record high, NHS England figures stated.
• Patient advocacy groups warned that the delays would seriously hurt patients.

By the end of 2022, patients in England experiencing crises including heart attacks and strokes had to wait an average of more than 90 minutes for an ambulance.

It followed a precipitous decline in 999 response times in December, which were almost two times worse than in November.

Life-threatening cardiac arrests experienced record-worst wait times, while A&E wait times of more than four hours hit a record high.

Patient advocacy groups warned that the delays would seriously hurt patients.

Since modern records began in 2004, the data from NHS England indicate the worst-ever collection of emergency care statistics.

“Pressures on the NHS right now are intolerable – with patients paying the price,” said Louise Ansari, national director of the Healthwatch England patient group.

According to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the difficulty in getting access to emergency care may be killing up to 500 people per week.

[embedpost slug=”ambulance-bosses-apologized-for-their-negligence/”]