Last year, an average of 120 people died every day waiting for an ambulance (Picture: PA)
More than 43,000 people died by the time an ambulance arrived for them last year.
That’s an average of 120 people dying every day before medics could reach them, according to data obtained by the Liberal Democrats.
The party has described the statistics as ‘truly shocking’, saying it’s the result of ‘a Conservative government starving the NHS of the resources it needs.’
People have also reportedly been forced to drive or take public transport because ambulance and 999 call times were too long.
The figures further show that hospitals declared almost 4,500 people dead on arrival in December alone – a rise of nearly 20% on the previous year.
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: ‘These frightening figures reveal the horror of England’s ambulance crisis.
‘Not only have ambulance services been left to pick up the slack of a broken health and care system, now people are being left to drive or even take a bus just to get to A&E because the ambulances themselves can’t get there in time.
Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse said ‘we need urgent action now or we will face crisis after growing crisis’ (Picture: PA)
‘This is truly scandalous.’
Ms Cooper added: ‘The British public pay their fair share in tax to fund our NHS and at the very least they should be able to expect an ambulance to arrive in their hour of need.
‘Conservative ministers should apologise to every member of the public forced to make their own way to hospital because the ambulance simply couldn’t turn up in time.
‘This is a life or death issue and the government just doesn’t seem to get it.’
Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrats MP who submitted the Freedom of Information requests for the new data, said: ‘Paramedics work extremely hard to save lives but have been let down by a Conservative government starving the NHS of the resources it needs.
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‘The consequences are real and deadly. Chronic staff shortages in social care mean we cannot move people out of hospital beds, leaving desperate patients stuck in queuing ambulances.’
Ms Hobhouse added: ‘We need urgent action now or we will face crisis after growing crisis.’
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told Metro.co.uk the department ‘does not recognise these figures.’
They said: ‘We are working hard to improve ambulance response times which have substantially reduced from the peak of winter pressures in December.
‘Our Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan will allow people to be seen quicker by scaling up community teams, expanding virtual wards, and getting 800 new ambulances on the road.
‘This is on top of £750 million we have provided this winter to speed up hospital discharge and free up beds.’
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The Liberal Democrats, who obtained the new data, described the statistics as ‘truly shocking’.