ONE of Somerset’s newest MPs has slammed the south west’s ambulance service after a pensioner with heatstroke waited eight hours for paramedics.

Adam Dance was elected as the new Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil at the general election on July 4, overturning a Conservative majority of more than 16,000.

Mr Dance has called for urgent investment in Somerset’s ambulance services and wider NHS after a freedom of information (FOI) request revealed that a pensioner waited more than eight hours for an ambulance after suffering heatstroke.

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has apologised for the delay and said more needed to be done to ensure a rapid handover of patients at emergency departments.

The FOI request revealed that the average waiting time for ambulances in heatstroke cases across the south west had risen by more than 40 per cent in five years – rising from an average of 36 minutes in 2018/19 to 51 minutes in 2023/24.

For heatstroke patients aged 65 and over, the situation is even more stark, with wait times increasing by nearly 75 per cent in the same period – rising from 42 minutes in 2018/19 to 73 minutes in 2023/24.

Wait times for pensioners with heatstroke are also a staggering 31 minutes longer on average than for all patients.

Mr Dance said the data was “shocking” and showed “just how badly the Conservatives broke our NHS”.

He added: “Over recent weeks I heard countless stories of people waiting for hours either for themselves or their loved one as they worried they would not get the care they needed in time.

“This shocking data lays bare once again just how badly the Conservatives broke our NHS and abandoned patients and tirelessly working ambulance staff with their neglect.

“We desperately need investment in our local ambulance services to bring an end to this unacceptable situation.

“That is why I am proud to support the Liberal Democrats’ calls for an Emergency Health and Care Budget and an end to dangerous handover delays which have sent wait times spiralling.

“My constituents simply cannot wait any longer.”

SWASFT has said much of the delays with ambulance times lay in slow handovers of patients at emergency departments, meaning ambulances having to wait outside hospitals rather than being redeployed.

A spokesman said: “We are sorry that we have not always been able to provide a timely response to some patients.

“Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our people and partners, our response times have recovered to a more stable position, but there is still more to do.

“Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges.

“To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15-minute national target.

“We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.”