A CYCLIST complaining of chest pains suffered an anxious wait for emergency help in the build-up to Easter as the ambulance service continues to struggle with soaring demand.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) said demand over the Easter weekend was up 11 per cent compared to Easter 2015 with the trust’s 999 emergency operations centres receiving more than 9,500 calls.

As a result, calls of a non-life threatening nature received a longer response time and at one point on Thursday, March 24, 71 calls were put on hold as the service had insufficient ambulances.

A 22-year-old man in Crondall was among those forced to wait for emergency treatment after he was found by passers-by laying on the pavement in Pankridge Street clutching his chest.

Jacqueline Kingston, one of those who came to his aid, said she rang 999 at around 9.15am on Monday, March 21, and was told by the call centre operator the cyclist was a “top priority”.

But despite SECAmb aiming to respond to priority calls within eight minutes, Jacqueline added the ambulance took over an hour to arrive.

“They said they’d run out if ambulances! I hate to think what could of happened,” she told The Herald.

“He was cycling and got chest pains so just dropped his bike and laid on the pavement, he couldn’t do anything.

“A few of us stopped and couldn’t believe the service delays. We even called the doctors’ surgery to see if they could come to the lad’s aid, only to be told they were busy. I couldn’t believe it.

“He seemed much better once the paramedic had him in the van and was taken to Frimley Park Hospital. But I’ve got no idea what happened to him afterwards.”

A spokesman for SECAmb contested the timing of the initial 999 call, insisting its records show the call was made at 9.43am rather than 9.15am - thus reducing the response time to 30 minutes.

He said: “The [9.43am] call was categorised as a ‘Red 2’ call which should receive a response within eight minutes. Due to a delayed response there was a clinical welfare call back made at 10.07am and the call was reassessed as a ‘Green 2’ call requiring a face-to-face assessment within 30 minutes.

“A paramedic in a car attended the scene 30 minutes after the initial call and the patient was assessed before being taken to Frimley Park Hospital.

“At the time we were extremely busy with demand up approximately 10 per cent that day. We are sorry for the delayed response to the initial call made for this patient.”

However, Jacqueline stands by her account of the day’s events, adding the paramedic “definitely did not arrive within 30 minutes of the initial call”.

The ambulance service spokesman was unable to provide an update on the health of the young cyclist however, due to data protection law.

SECAmb faced further pressure over the Easter weekend with the arrival of Storm Katie and it has warned it remains extremely busy with demand up on last year.

It is asking the public for its continued support by remembering that 999 should only be used in an emergency and is working closely with hospitals across Surrey, Sussex and Kent to minimise delays when patients are handed over at A&E.

SECAmb paramedic and regional operations manager James Pavey said: “We are continuing to experience high levels of demand and we are focusing our efforts to responding to our most seriously ill and injured patients. Non life-threatening calls are unfortunately likely to receive a longer response.

“Anyone faced with an emergency shouldn’t hesitate to call but we would urge anyone else who needs help to consider all the other options available to them.

“This might be dialling NHS111 for help, where staff can provide support and advice over the phone and refer patient to out-of-hours services where appropriate.”