England heart attack patients wait 93 minutes for ambulance

Ambulance response times and waits for emergency treatment in England are the worst on record, according to new figures published as the government battles to control a raft of walkouts by health workers.

The average ambulance response time in December for the highest priority, life-threatening calls was 10 minutes 57 seconds, data from NHS England showed Thursday. The target response time is 7 minutes.

Ambulances took an average of 1 hour 33 minutes to reach category two patients, which includes people suffering from strokes or chest pains, many of which are suspected heart attacks. The target for paramedics to reach these patients is 18 minutes.

Cardiac arrest, in which a patient’s heart has stopped, is treated as a category one call-out.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson Max Blain told reporters that the figures were “obviously unacceptable” and people would “rightly be concerned”. The figures were published a day after ambulance workers held their second strike of the winter and as the National Health Service (NHS) struggles to deal with surging demand and huge care backlogs.

More NHS strikes are planned, including a walkout by nurses on two days next week. Health secretary Steve Barclay met doctors’ unions on Thursday in an attempt to prevent a potential strike by junior physicians in March.

Speaking after that meeting, British Medical Association chair Philip Banfield told reporters that Barclay needed to address a “workforce crisis” worsened by a “drop in pay for junior doctors”. 

The data from NHS England also showed that a record 54,532 people waited more than 12 hours in Accident and Emergency in December, up from 37,837 in November. About 65% of A&E patients were seen within four hours last month, a record low.

However, there was a slight fall in the total number of people waiting for routine treatment such as hip replacements, from 7.21-million people to 7.19-million.

“There is no shying away from the reality that the NHS is deep in crisis, as demonstrated by unprecedented strikes and widespread, serious and sustained problems in quality of care, despite the best efforts of healthcare staff,” Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at health think-tank the King’s Fund, said in an emailed statement.

Labour’s health spokesperson, Wes Streeting, said in a statement: “The terrifying truth is that patients in an emergency can no longer be sure the NHS will be there for them.”

Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, praised NHS staff, who he said were dealing with record A&E attendances, 999 calls and emergency ambulance call-outs amid “unprecedented levels of respiratory illness”.

Sunak’s government is also grappling to contain widespread industrial action across other sectors, including public transport and the civil service, as unions protest real-terms cuts in pay. 

On Wednesday the Public and Commercial Services (PSC) union announced that 100,000 civil servants would walk out on February 1, affecting a range of public services including driving tests, passport applications and welfare payments.

The government held a meeting with PCS leader Mark Serwotka on Thursday, which Serwotka later branded a “total farce.” He said in a statement: “We shall look to escalate our action further, calling more members out on more strikes until the government listens to us.” 

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