Councillors called for scrutiny of ambulance response times as recent figures show waits for ambulances in the South West have been among the worst in the country.

Plymouth Labour councillors brought a motion on the issue which was debated at full council on Monday as recent figures show SWAST response times were the worst in the country in March.

Cllr Jemima Laing proposed the motion after recently waiting six hours for an ambulance for her 82-year-old father.

“Our experience as a family was extremely stressful,” said Cllr Laing, who is deputy leader of Plymouth Labour.

“But I didn’t just bring this motion because of my dad, it’s because of the paramedics and people who’d been through similar experiences who contacted me after I tweeted about our wait for the ambulance.

“I have heard time and again how people have had to wait far longer than they should and the figures bear this out.”

Cllr Laing’s motion – which was being seconded by newly-elected Compton councillor Dylan Tippetts in his maiden speech – asked the chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee to make sure SWASFT’s performance is included in any upcoming scrutiny of health services in Plymouth. It passed unanimously.

Click HERE to read Plymouth Live’s coverage of the debate