BBC News By Dr Faye Kirkland and Noel Titheradge BBC News image copyrightEPA The number of hours ambulances spent waiting to offload patients in parts of England is "off the scale", the Royal College of Emergency Medicine says. Data leaked to BBC News shows ambulance waiting times at hospitals in the South East rose by 36% in December compared to the same month in 2019. People are also having to wait longer for ambulances to arrive when called. Ambulance services say it is taking longer to hand over patients but they are doing all they can to meet demand. It comes as the NHS faces unprecedented pressure because of the Covid pandemic.