POLITICIANS have warned that the NHS is at “breaking point” after shocking delays in the region forced people to wait hours for treatment.

A 95-year-old man, from Redcar, cracked his head open and was left covered in blood as he waited nearly four hours for an ambulance on Sunday.

And a 92-year-old woman had to wait 90 minutes for a paramedic after falling during Darlington's reindeer parade.

More than 10,900 people in the region were admitted to A&E in the week ending November 23, according to NHS England.

And the number of patients waiting between four and 12 hours to be admitted is 91 per cent higher than this time last year.

Offcials at the North East Ambulance Service insisted they were doing everything they could.

A spokesman said: “We would like to reassure the public that we are doing all we can to increase our response times.

“We prioritise the most serious, life-threatening cases first. That means that we are unable to reach those patients who are not classed as life-threatening as quickly as we would like to. This is not a position we want to be in.

“We will continue to work with NHS colleagues to tackle these issues.”

However, Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat MP for Redcar, said that he was “very concerned”.

And Anna Turley, Labour and Co-operative parliamentary candidate for Redcar, said: “

“Nationally, we are seeing volunteer crews sent to 999 calls and ambulances queuing outside hospitals waiting for beds. More than half of nurses say their ward is dangerously understaffed. Cuts have driven our paramedic services to breaking point.”

Angry relatives of the Redcar pensioner told how they rang for help half-a-dozen times. His niece said: “My uncle's carer found him on the landing face down and covered in blood.

“We rang the ambulance five or six times, initially just before 9am, but one did not arrive until 13.20pm. I had to ring two or three times and so did the helper. The whole time my uncle was lying on the floor getting agitated and chilly. We could not move him as we were worried about neck or back injuries.

“The operators asked me on the fifth time whether I had rung an ambulance before. His sister was very distressed and I am disgusted."

The confused pensioner had to be kept in hospital after needing five stitches to a cut on his head. His family praised hospital staff for the quality of care he had received.

In Darlington Don Saunders, 60, was at the town's reindeer parade with his wife and nine-year-old son when a woman collapsed.

He said: “I believe she damaged her elbow and the corner of her eye swelled up.

“It is a ridiculous state of affairs when a 92-year-old woman has fallen and is left lying on the kerb for all that time, waiting for an ambulance, particularly when the hospital is only five minutes up the road.”

Ambulance services are facing unprecedented demand with more call-outs and problems handing patients over to over-stretched accident and emergency wards.

In neighbouring North Yorkshire, union officials claimed last night that ambulance staffing could be cut back even further.

The trade union, which has been at loggerheads with management over over patient and staff safety issues for months, warned that Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) will cut frontline ambulance services by ten per cent and staff by five per cent by 2018.

The Trust was unavailable last night but on previous occasions management has insisted that it has held constructive talks with union officials and that it was determined to provide the 'best possible' service to patients.