AMBULANCE response times are 30% slower since two casualty units were closed in Glasgow, new figures suggest.

Two thirds of 999 call-outs - 82% - bound for the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital took longer than 75 minutes last year, data shows.

The average time prior to the new hospital opening, when the Western and Victoria Infirmary were still open with functioning accident and emergency units, was 57 minutes according to senior paramedics.

Figures obtained by the Evening Times show that 11,033 999 call-outs bound for the QEUH took more than one hour and 15 minutes from October to December last year.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said it was working with the hospital to improve patient flow.

Jamie McNamee, a senior paramedic and national lead for Unison, said: “Previously, the average time from 999 call to despatch was 57 minutes.

“So two-thirds of calls (to the QEUH) were well over the standard at more than 75 minutes.

“That means that around 18 minutes is lost from every one of those 11,000 call-outs which equates to about 3, 473 missed calls.

“Previously in Glasgow we would have had about 10 vehicles at each site. We now have all those ambulances going to two sites with fewer staff and beds.

“We have real issues pressure from external partners including GP services and NHS 24 as well as cuts in local authority funding.

“There is only one service that is going to pick up the slack and that’s the 999 service.

“The public have great confidence and high expectations of the ambulance service - quite rightly - but at this moment in time we don’t have the capacity.”

Last year the Scottish Government announced that 1000 new paramedics will be trained to work in the ambulance service over the next five years.

The service is also piloting a new system whereby patients with life-threatening conditions or those who have been involved in serious road accidents will receive the fastest response times.

Mr McNamee said: “The is a real hope and determination to make the new clinical model a success but we feel as if we are operating with our hands tied behind our back.”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We will continue to work jointly with our colleagues in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to improve the flow of patients in and out of the hospital.”