Britain is in an 'Uber-ambulance crisis' as new figures reveal half a million ... trends now
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The number of patients making their own way to A&E in need of 'very urgent' care has soared.
At least 504,276 such patients arrived at casualty wards last year on foot or by private or public transport amid the 'shocking' crisis in ambulance response times.
The figure was 11,500 (2.4 per cent) up on 2022 and 141,000 (38.9 per cent) higher than 2019, according to data released under Freedom of Information laws. The rise was particularly sharp in those aged 65 and over, up 45.4 per cent since 2019 to 96,000 last year.
Ambulance services have repeatedly failed to meet response targets, with heart attack and stroke patients among those waiting too long for paramedics to arrive.
In York and Scarborough, 7,669 'code 2' patients – in need of 'very urgent emergency care' – arrived at A&E not in an ambulance last year, up from 808 in 2019. Hull reported a 514 per cent rise from 196 to 1,203, while numbers for Hillingdon, west London, almost doubled to 16,699.
The number of patients making their own way to A&E in need of 'very urgent' care has soared
Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems' health and social care spokesman, accused the Tories of creating an 'Uber-ambulance crisis'
Only 53 of 140 NHS trusts responded with complete data to the request by the Liberal Democrats, meaning the true number affected
