Ambulance delays: MP's anger at man's seven-hour 999 wait

An MP has demanded urgent funding for NHS services after a elderly man waited seven hours for an ambulance "in absolute agony".

Jim Rotheram, 89, faced the delay for help after fracturing his hip at his home in Runcorn, Cheshire, in July.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury said it was "unacceptable" and the service was "under-resourced".

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said a complaint was being investigated and it would reveal its findings.

The ambulance service was "extremely busy", it said, adding that staff were working "extremely hard" to make sure everyone who needed an ambulance gets one.

The incident comes after patients around the UK were found to be facing unacceptably long waits for 999 responses.

Forces veteran Mr Rotheram spent several weeks in Warrington Hospital after his injury.

He then suffered a second fall within a month and again faced another long wait for paramedics to arrive, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"I was waiting for hours in absolute agony. Oh God, it was painful," he said.

Mr Rotheram's wife Jean added: "When the NHS came in it was wonderful. For the first time you could go and see a doctor when you were poorly and not worry about how you were going to pay for it.

"But if people don't watch it, we could lose it all."

On Thursday, NHS data showed callouts for problems such as heart attacks and strokes are taking nearly three times as long as they should in England.

Targets are also being missed in the rest of UK , with some seriously-ill people waiting up to nine hours for an ambulance.

A NWAS spokesman said staff were "working extremely hard to ensure that everyone who needs an ambulance gets one".

He said that, since April, they had received 15% more calls to 999 call centres compared to the same period in 2019. There had been a 26% rise in highest-priority incidents this October compared to two years ago, he added.

NWAS said they were taking on additional call handlers and clinicians in 999 call centres.

They are also increasing the numbers of ambulances available by using some Patient Transport Service staff and "with the support of private providers".

Mr Amesbury said the ambulance service was "under unprecedented pressure" as he called on the government for an NHS funding boost for his constituency.

He added he did not wish to criticise paramedics themselves.

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