Patients stranded as aging ambulances break down on way to hospital

There were 7,060 ambulance breakdowns in England last year. The Liberal Democrats said the figures were "further proof that the Tories have let our NHS fall apart". Some ambulances have been on the road for 14 years (

Image: PA)

Patients “are at risk of getting stranded” when trying to get to the hospital, as there has been a massive increase in ambulance breakdowns.

Emergency vehicles broke down 7,060 times in England last year, the equivalent of 19 times a day. This is a 36% increase from five years ago, when there were 5,159 ambulance breakdowns. Some vehicles have been on the road for 14 years.

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper, who obtained the figures, said they were 'further proof that the Tories have let our NHS fall apart'. Party inquiries about the outages were sent to 11 NHS trusts, six of which provided figures.

The Liberal Democrats also asked about the age of the emergency vehicle fleet. Of the 10 trusts that provided information on the age of the ambulances, six confirmed that they had vehicles over 12 years old. In total, nearly 250 ambulances from these trusts are over 10 years old.

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust was found to own a 14-year-old ambulance, with this trust also accounting for 3,800 breakdowns in 2022. But it was also the trust with the most ambulances among the trusts that provided data.

Ms Cooper said: 'Patients with life-threatening injuries risk being stranded in painful waits for an ambulance due to the mismanagement of Tories and the neglect of our health services. End this embarrassment, Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to provide the funding our emergency services need to keep ambulances on the road."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “These data are misleading and outdated. The latest data shows improved ambulance response times, despite record emergency room attendance and demand for July. We are working to get 800 new ambulances on the road, create 5,000 additional hospital beds and expand virtual services as part of our emergency and urgent care plan to further reduce patient wait times . We've opened four new ambulance centers - with two more set to open this summer that will help increase efficiency and get ambulances back on the road faster, so they can reach the people who need them fastest possible. "

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