People in some parts of the country are waiting more than nine minutes for their 999 calls to be answered.
The postcode lottery of ‘life-threatening’ delays means some callers are waiting longer to report their emergency than it should take for the ambulance to arrive.
The British Heart Foundation last night described the life-threatening delays as ‘deeply concerning’ and warned ‘every minute matters’.
West Midlands residents have their calls answered in an average of just three seconds, while those in the South West are typically waiting one minute 20 seconds.
But one in every 100 callers in Yorkshire was made to wait nine minutes 28 seconds to speak to somebody in April, according to the latest NHS England data.
South Central and South Western ambulance trusts also made one in 100 people wait more than seven minutes that month. An ambulance is supposed to arrive at the most urgent life-threatening emergencies within seven minutes.
The postcode lottery of…
