Dangerous ambulance delays are still harming patients every single day
We asked Just Treatment supporters to share their recent experiences of ambulance delays. This blog sets out just some of the devastating testimonials we’ve had sent in.
The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham must reckon with the true scale of this ongoing crisis and deliver the investment needed to stop these dangerous delays and save patients’ lives.
*Content warning: this blog contains mention of suicide*
“Mam fell and broke her hip. 3.15pm called 999, they said to leave her where she was and that they would be here as soon as possible. The ambulance turned up around half 8, five hours after her fall, she arrived at hospital around 10pm and was in the ambulance till around 4am the following day. They had taken her for a few checks but brought back to the ambulance because no beds were available.” - R
“Waited 3/4 hours for an ambulance after my 5th heart attack, 6 weeks after my 4th heart attack. I worry about what my next episode will be like.” - Martin
“My sister who was only 74 years old stood up and said to me that she felt dizzy, I looked at her and could see her face droop clearly, she then fell back to her sofa. It was obviously a stroke. There is a four hour period following a stroke which is critical for recovery/treatment. I called 999 asked for an ambulance and then informed the operator of the above, she informed me that it was very busy in the area we lived and that there was an average time of 5-8 hours for the ambulance to get to her.” - D
“After having a fall and being unable to regain my feet, I lay on the floor waiting for an ambulance for nine hours before being taken to hospital in a wheelchair.” - Nigel
“In 2024, I experienced a severe mental health crisis and became actively suicidal. My mum called 999 at around 4:00 pm because I urgently needed help. Despite repeated calls to the ambulance service throughout the evening, no ambulance arrived until approximately 4:00 am the following morning. We waited 12 hours. Those 12 hours were absolutely terrifying. I was in extreme psychological distress, experiencing delusions and believing that I had died. I was suicidal and unable to keep myself safe.” - Ryan
“I am a disabled man. On one occasion I fell down at home and I had a serious discomfort in my chest. I called 111 as my GP practice was closed at the weekend. I was told that an ambulance would be arranged to take me to Watford General Hospital. I waited seven hours before the ambulance crew arrived.” - Shafiq
“Last year I fell in London and sustained 3 fractures to my ankle and one to my wrist. I had missed the bottom step on a flight of concrete stairs in a block of flats. I ended up lying on the floor effectively under the stairs near a public entrance door for 6 hours.” - H
“I called for an ambulance because my husband was struggling to breathe. After approximately an hour and a half, my husband's condition had deteriorated significantly, so I called 999 again. I was told that an ambulance would be with us in around 45 minutes and was advised to continue waiting. I insisted that something was seriously wrong, and the call handler asked me to check him again. It was then that I realised he had stopped breathing. I began CPR immediately. Although help arrived very quickly once his cardiac arrest had been identified, it was too late to save him.” - L
“At the end of May I suffered a back injury and was unable to stand, walk or lay. Ambulance called 3.50pm Wednesday. Three further calls and a 111 call and still no ambulance, apparently waiting for triage. Upgraded by midnight. No ambulance arrived. At about 9.45am got a call. I had spent all night in wheelchair with no sleep and struggling for toilet.” - Michaela
“My mother, 99 years old, had a fall at home and broke her pelvis. She had to lie on the floor for 6 hours before the ambulance came and took her to hospital.” - David
“My mum took ill, when I got to her she was struggling to breathe. I called for an ambulance and was told that there would be a wait of an hour or so. When I next went upstairs to check on my mum she’d died.” - Carrie
“When I was 16, I attempted suicide. I took a handful of co-codamol pills and exceeded the maximum dosage one could have in their system at my age. I regretted it a bit later and I called an ambulance as I needed immediate intervention if I were going to live. They did not show up for hours. They never showed up. My mother, who was initially not at home that day, and my elder grandmother, who raised me and was also out with my mother, came home to find me passed out 2-3 hours later. They speak very limited English, so they called an uber instead and that's how they took me to the hospital.” - I
“I saw an elderly man laying on the pavement in some distress. It was raining very heavily and he had fallen over a curb (it was very dark out) and hit his head off the corner of another curb. He had an extremely nasty gash above his eye and was bleeding quite badly. He was obviously very disorientated and after I managed to get his name, I called 999 and was told an ambulance would be 8 hours. Eight hours.” - Richard
“My 87 year old sister fell over in Liverpool. She was carried into a betting shop nearby in great pain having, as we found out, broken her hip. An ambulance came six hours later and took her to hospital.” - Samuel
“My father in law had a fall. His wife rang 999 he was triaged by the person on the end of the phone. As it was not urgent the person advised an ambulance would be there after 8 hours. He couldn’t wait that long so they called a taxi to take him to A&E” - V
“My sister was only 65 years older when she passed away. Due to the ambulance being redirected twice and bypassing her she went into septic shock. Sadly after 3 operations over 4 hours each they could save her.” - Anita
“When I was having chest pains, we were informed that the ambulance would take at least six hours and we would be better off driving to A and E ourselves. We did so, but what do people with no cars do? They die. The poor and elderly are dying under this system. We must not tolerate it any longer.” - J