Calls for urgent funding as ambulance waiting times grow

The average wait time in two southern counties for an ambulance responding to life-threatening incidents has increased by eight minutes to 26 minutes. Picture: Dan Linehan

People are waiting longer for ambulances now than they were three years ago, with the average wait in one region up to almost half an hour, new figures show.

Since 2019, the average wait time in two southern counties for an ambulance responding to life-threatening incidents has increased by eight minutes to 26, and increased by seven minutes to 28 in several counties in the South East.