South West ambulance wait times crisis sparks calls for urgent action
Shocking new NHS England data reveals dangerously high wait times, putting lives at risk, says Liberal Democrat Sarah Gibson
Last updated 15th May 2025
Urgent action is being demanded to ease the strain on the South Western Ambulance Service amid a waiting times crisis.
New figures from NHS England reveal astonishing delays in responding to suspected heart attacks and strokes, which are 'Category 2' priorities.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, the national target of responding within 18 minutes was shattered every month, with an average low of 32 minutes in August, but a peak of an hour in December.
It's led to calls from Lib Dem MP, Sarah Gibson, who represents Chippenham in Wiltshire, for the Sir Kier Starmer's Government to take steps to reduce the burden on ambulance services.
It follows her own experience of being rushed to hospital last Christmas with an inflamed heart. And while the response to Mrs Gibson's emergency was quick, the same can't be said for one of her constituents, who's father passed away whilst waiting over an hour for an ambulance for a heart related emergency.
The issue is made worse by delays in hospital handovers, which are feeding the slow response times.
In December last year, more than half (52%) of ambulance handovers took more than half an hour, with almost a third taking more than 60 minutes.
January 2025 saw more than 19,000 handovers experience a delay, with close to 12,000 lasting beyond an hour.
These delays come despite consistent call volumes and a relatively stable paramedic workforce, suggesting the problem lies in delays in hospital discharges, hospital capacity, and NHS bosses.
Despite the seriousness of these delays, the Government admitted that no official statistics are collected on the longest individual ambulance wait times, raising concerns about transparency and oversight.
Mrs Gibson said: “These figures paint a stark picture of the Government’s failure to get a grip on the crisis in our emergency services. When people are waiting over an hour for an ambulance after a suspected heart attack, or when handovers at A&E are routinely delayed by hours, lives are being put at risk.”
“Our ambulance crews are doing an incredible job given the circumstances. That is why I have raised these issues directly with Ministers because our NHS, and my constituents deserve better. We cannot accept a system where long waits become the norm.”
“I am calling for the Government to come up with a clear plan to fix the whole emergency care system – that means freeing up hospital beds, supporting social care, and ensuring ambulance services have the resources they need.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We inherited a broken NHS with people waiting far too long for urgent treatment. Long ambulance waits and handover delays are completely unacceptable which is why we are fundamentally reforming the health service through our Plan for Change.
“This includes shifting services from the hospital to the community to ensure patients can access the right treatment closer to home, on top of recruiting an extra 1,000 GPs to reach patients earlier.
“This will free up our under-pressure ambulance services and A&E departments and help reduce waiting times for those in genuine need of urgent care.”
We've asked the South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust to comment.