A 90-year-old man was left bleeding from his head on the bathroom floor for over two hours this week, despite paying for a St John ambulance emergency alarm.
St John has defended its response time, saying it must prioritise the most life-threatening calls and balance this with available resources and patient demand.
Meanwhile:
National's health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti said he'd heard other examples in recent weeks of patients waiting longer for ambulances.
Reti said it was a consequence of a health system that he believed was "very clearly in a crisis".
I would replace "in a crisis" with "Munted".