Heart attack victims in Hertfordshire face an average wait of 43 minutes for ambulances, latest figures show.
People suffering strokes and potential heart attacks, classified as category two ambulance calls, face an average wait of 43 minutes and eight seconds in Hertfordshire and West Essex.
The figures, obtained via a Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information request, also show category one calls (the most urgent and life threatening such as cardiac arrest) are responded to in nine minutes and 16 seconds on average.
The NHS target is 18 minutes for category two calls and seven minutes for category one.
The data shows just two areas of the country met the category two target in 2021/2022.
Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats praised the job done by frontline paramedics but blasted the government for local NHS services being “overstretched” and “collapsing”.
The party also highlighted that ambulance delays have significantly worsened in recent years, with the average response time increasing by 40% for category two calls since 2019.
It also called for the introduction of a five-point winter plan to combat the “ambulance crisis”.
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