Paramedics were forced to queue outside A&E departments across England for more than 42,000 hours in just four weeks, as surging demand wrought unprecedented pressure on hospitals.
The winter crisis forced the 10 ambulance services across the country to spend £5 million hiring private firms and charities to bolster their stretched workforce.
NHS ambulances queued outside A&E departments waiting to offload sick patients for a staggering 42,726 hours in the last two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January.