The lives of South Hams patients are at risk because of the Government’s failure to tackle the NHS crisis, it has been claimed.

New figures released by the NHS have revealed the extent of the crisis in Torbay and South Devon.

In Torbay hospital, 798 people waited more than four hours to be seen by A&E staff in December, and 264 waited more than 12 hours to be seen in December during the winter crisis. 

At Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital 1,316 people waited more than four hours, and 989 people waited more than 12 hours to be seen in December.

Meanwhile, the average ambulance response time for the most urgent incidents in the South Western Ambulance Service was the longest in the country at more than 13 minutes in December. The NHS target is seven minutes. 

Response times for urgent conditions such as heart attacks and strokes are even longer. Ambulance response times for these Category 2 emergencies are now two hours 39 minutes, well above the 18-minute target.

Former MEP Caroline Voaden, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for the Totnes Constituency, says local people are being forced to wait “fair too long” for the treatment they need.

She is demanding the Government release the money it promised to help discharge patients from hospitals as soon as possible.

Ms Voaden said: “The Government’s failure to tackle the crisis in our NHS is harming people in Torbay and South Devon and putting patients’ lives at risk.

“How much more evidence do Ministers need? They either don’t care or just can’t grasp the scale of this problem. Unacceptable and heartbreaking delays mean the Government is falling far short even on its own targets. 

“Far too many people in South Devon are having to wait far too long to get the treatment they need. In many cases, this is literally a matter of life or death. People in our area deserve far better.

“I want to see an immediate, fair and realistic settlement to the current pay dispute and for the Government to start treating our vital healthcare workers with the respect they deserve. Clapping doesn’t pay the bills.

“Our NHS isn’t just at breaking point - it’s splitting at its very seams. We need action from the Conservatives. Liberal Democrats are demanding the Government release the money they promised to help discharge patients from hospitals, and launch a campaign to recruit the extra paramedics and ambulance staff we need.”

The Lib Dem’s ambulance crisis five point winter plan includes launching a campaign to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance service staff; and to bring forward a fully funded programme to get people who are medically well enough discharged from hospital and set up with appropriate social care and support.

The plan also includes getting people out of hospital so they get care in a more comfortable setting, and increasing the number of beds in hospitals to end excessive handover delays for ambulances, caused by a lack of bed capacity. 

The party also wants to expand mental health support services to get people the care they need and reduce the number of call outs for ambulances for mental health reasons.