In the UK, the average ambulance response time for Category 2 calls, including suspected heart attacks and strokes, rose to more than 42 minutes in October.

The average waiting time for an ambulance rose in October from 38 minutes in September, according to the latest NHS figures.

The average waiting time for Category 2 ambulances is now the highest since December 2022, when it reached 93 minutes. In January 2023, it was reduced to 32 minutes.

The official target for answering Category 2 calls is 18 minutes, but the government has set a new average target of 30 minutes for 2023-2024. This goal was achieved in just one month after the goal was set in January 2023.

Statistics released this morning also show:

• TThe number of people on heart disease waiting lists in the UK has risen to a record high of 409,541 at the end of September 2023, an increase of 2,898 people on the previous month.
• Since February 2020, the number of people waiting for heart treatment has increased by 76%. This is an increase of 176,000 people, enough to fill Wembley Stadium more than once.
• At the end of September, 163,919 people were waiting for potentially life-saving cardiac care for more than four months (the planned maximum waiting time target), compared with 159,996 at the end of August. It further increased. More than a third (40%) of all people on heart treatment waiting lists have been waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.
• The longer a person waits for treatment, the greater the risk of disability and early death from heart failure.
• The number of people waiting more than a year for urgent heart tests and treatments fell to 13,223 from 13,479 in August. Only 28 people waited this long in February 2020.

said Dr. Sonya Babu Narayan, our Associate Medical Director. “Heart care cannot wait, but waiting lists for cardiac diagnosis and treatment remain at critical levels, with people facing dangerous wait times for even emergency heart attack and stroke treatment. ”

“Such a long delay at any stage of cardiac care risks preventable complications such as heart failure and even premature death.

“Recruiting and retaining more cardiovascular specialist staff could help the NHS keep track of ever-increasing waiting lists and prevent a heartbreaking rise in avoidable disability and death.

“We welcome the Government’s recommitment to long-term workforce planning in this week’s King’s Speech, which requires long-term investment and the need for heart disease patients who need urgent care in fit-for-purpose facilities. It needs to be accompanied by prioritization.”