Nearly 2,000 people waited over an hour for an ambulance in the Lothians

Almost 2,000 people in the Lothians waited more than an hour for an ambulance in a 12-month period, new figures have shown.

Data released by the Scottish Ambulance Service revealed 1,936 people with non-life threatening illnesses waited more than an hour for a crew to arrive between September 2016 and August this year.

The figure has prompted concerns that paramedics are overstretched.

However, the service said the number represented just 2.4% of total calls received in the region during the period.

Those with life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks are reached within an average of less than six minutes, it reported.

Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: People within our emergency services work incredibly hard and they do all they can to reach patients as soon as possible. But these numbers make for difficult reading.

Paramedics are overstretched and these figures show that these concerns are far from scaremongering.

When someone makes that 999 call it means they need help immediately and not be faced with an hour-long wait.''

The Scottish Ambulance Service is training 1,000 new paramedics over the next five years.

Mr Cole-Hamilton added: 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.

Winter is fast approaching and it is crystal-clear that more resources are needed for our emergency services so that they are able to respond to emergencies as quickly and effectively as possible.''

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: Patients with immediately life-threatening conditions, such as cardiac arrest, are prioritised and receive the fastest response.

Latest figures for September show that we reached these patients on average within 5.44 minutes.

In less urgent cases, our call handlers may spend more time with patients to better understand the health needs and ensure they are sent the most appropriate resource for their condition.

In these cases, patients may not require to be taken to hospital because their condition is less serious and can be treated either within the home or by onward transportation to an alternative facility.

We are moving towards focusing on improving patient outcomes rather than simply measuring the time it takes to respond.'