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Exclusive FOI figures show delays in the West Midlands Ambulance Service are causing real harm to patients. Data shows the number of serious incidents and people dying before an ambulance arrives have both shot up this year. The longest handover delay has gone up from 9 hours 40 minutes in 2020 to 29 hours 51 minutes in 2022. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of cases which have been called as Serious Incidents. The vast majority of these are where patients have come to harm as a result of ambulance crews being unable to respond to patients in a timely manner, due to the level of hospital handover delays.