Six postcodes in east Suffolk were ranked among the ten worst in the country for ambulance response times, figures show.
On average, it took more than 25 minutes for paramedics to respond to the most serious emergencies in the Aldeburgh, Leiston, Saxmundham, Halesworth, Stradbroke and Eye areas, according to data analysed by The Times.
The slowest times were recorded in Aldeburgh, which had an average response of 29.46 minutes.
In contrast, central Newcastle upon Tyne had the best response times in England with ambulances arriving at an emergency in just over four minutes.
Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said she will continue challenging the ambulance service and urged bosses to remember not to leave rural areas in the dark.
“Sadly, the data suggesting that areas like Aldeburgh, Leiston, Halesworth and other very rural parts along the Suffolk coast have the worst ambulance response times are not news to me nor patients and anxious families and friends who have waited for the blue lights and care of dedicated paramedics to arrive,” she said.
“That is why I have been championing patients and challenging the ambulance service to remember it should not just be focused on cities and towns but across the rural parts of our county.”
The figures are based on data from the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) and show times for the most serious emergencies from 2012 to 2015.
To meet national targets, the trust must show that ambulances have reached 75% of patients with life-threatening conditions within eight minutes.
An EEAST spokeswoman said: “Demand is now at record-breaking levels; as an example, this New Year’s Day we took 30% more calls than the same day last year. That equates to more than 1,000 additional 999 calls in one day.
“When someone is in cardiac arrest, every minute counts. Effective CPR and early use of a defibrillator by any appropriately trained person can greatly increase the chances of survival when someone is unconscious and not breathing.
“The NHS target is for the ambulance service to respond to 75% of Red (immediately life-threatening) calls within eight minutes. There is also a target to reach 95% of Red calls with a transportable response within 19 minutes. For Red 1 calls (the category which includes cardia arrest incidents), the ‘clock starts’ as soon as the call comes into a 999 emergency operations centre and the ‘clock stops’ once the emergency response arrives. This includes a health care professional/community first responder (with defibrillator) or a public access defibrillator being confirmed as being at the patients side with a person able and willing to use it. We comply with the National Ambulance Quality Indicators NHS guidance which determine how response times are recorded.
The spokeswoman added: “Our ambulance service performs strongly in the national context and this is achieved through high-quality focused response and working closely with co-responders and volunteers.”
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