Whole fleets of ambulances are stuck in traffic jams in the emergency room – and endanger patients, doctors warn

WHOLE fleets of ambulances are stuck in emergency room traffic jams — leaving patients at home at risk, medics say.

Some crews wait more than 20 hours while the target is 15 minutes.

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And yesterday health chiefs insisted the heatwave wait should not exceed 30 minutes.

An ambulance queued for 11 hours at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth while 20 others waited in a car park.

On Monday, 25 ambulances were queued outside Royal Cornwall Hospital, BBC Newsnight said.

Liz Harris of the College of Paramedics said: “The whole system is in serious trouble.”

In June there was a record 900,000 emergency calls.

All ten ambulance trusts in England are on high alert.

Ministers have come under fire for their response to the crisis.

Labour’s shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The Health Secretary was appointed ten days ago but has yet to say anything about the heatwave and the unprecedented pressure our emergency services are facing.

“Our health and care services need leadership now, not the invisible man.”

Health Secretary Maria Caulfield told MPs that a £30million emergency ambulance plan is in place but the deal is pending.