50% rise in highest-risk patients waiting more than 20 minutes for an ambulance
The number of patients whose lives are at risk forced to wait more than 20 minutes for an ambulance has jumped more than 1,400 in a year
The number of patients whose lives are at risk forced to wait more than 20 minutes for an ambulance has jumped more than 1,400 in a year - a 50% increase.
The waiting-time is more than double the Scottish Ambulance Service eight-minute target for the call-outs classed as life-threatening.
A total of 4,350 of the highest-risk patients, known as category A, waited more than 20 minutes in 2015/16, up from 2,891 the previous year.
The ambulance service stressed the average response time to a life-threatening emergency is about 7.5 minutes.
In Glasgow, the number of patients facing long waits almost tripled from 80 in 2014/15 to 233 in 2015/16. In Edinburgh, the number increased from 58 patients in 2014/15 to 108 in 2015/16.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton, whose party obtained the figures, praised the ambulance service for its "fantastic, life-saving work'' but called for more support.
He said: "Ministers have been warned repeatedly by doctors that paramedics are overstretched and under-resourced.
"These figures show that these concerns are far from scaremongering. The number of seriously-ill patients facing waits of more than 20 minutes has increased year on year since 2013.
"The eight-minute target for category A incidents is there for good reason. These are hugely serious call-outs. Every extra minute that people are waiting for care reduces the likelihood that they will make a full recovery.
"Plans to increase the number of paramedics are a good start but there are fears that taking staff off the road for training could increase pressure in the short-term.
"We need ministers to ensure that the ambulance service is getting all the support it needs to close gaps in the service and save lives.''
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "The average response time to a life-threatening emergency is around 7.5 minutes, however ambulance teams are busier than ever as emergency demand continues to increase.
"The service is addressing this by investing in additional frontline staff and a five-year recruitment programme will create 1,000 new paramedics in Scotland.
"This will improve cover, enhance the clinical-skills mix of our staff and introduce new ways of working to best-meet the needs of patients.
"Response times are affected by several factors, such as sudden surges in 999 demand and requests for hospital transfers, as well as changing weather conditions and turnaround times at hospitals.
"In a potentially life-threatening emergency, the nearest available ambulance is always dispatched straight away.''
He said "clinical expertise'' of ambulance teams is key, adding these skills are "reflected in the consistently high survival rates that are now being achieved in Scotland as more lives are saved by ambulance teams every year''.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "The Scottish Ambulance Service has recently been experiencing higher demand for category A calls and we are working closely with them to put in place improvements to response times.''
She said improvements include an £11.4 million increase to the ambulance service budget for training of the 1,000 new paramedics, more clinical advisers and dispatch staff, and improving care in remote and rural communities.