MP launches campaign for two new ambulances for the South Lakes to tackle lengthy waiting times

Local MP Tim Farron has started a petition calling for two new ambulances for the South Lakes after an influx of residents contacting him demanding urgent action on long waiting times.

One constituent told Tim that her 89-year-old friend had to wait two hours and 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive after falling and fracturing her hip.

New figures from the NHS show that the North West has the lowest number of ambulances per head in the country, half the number per head of London despite covering a much larger geographical area.

As a result, our region has to deal with the most calls per ambulance than anywhere else - with each ambulance in the region over the past year dealing with 4,097 calls, compared to just 1,452 in Yorkshire.

Tim said: "Our local paramedics and technicians do a wonderful job - I saw that first hand when I spent the day out on the ambulance with them last year.

"But they are overworked and overstretched because of the rotten hand that the Conservative Government has dealt them.

"And as a result, local people are contacting me about having to wait hours for an ambulance to arrive to give them the treatment they so desperately need.

"That's why I've launched a campaign for two new ambulances - one based in Kendal and one in Ambleside - to support our brilliant paramedics and our ambulance teams so that they can keep us safer."

To sign the petition, go here.