Health critic Barry Petten is once again raising the alarm regarding the availability of ambulances – this time after he says car accident victims in Mount Pearl had a lengthy wait to receive treatment earlier this week.

Petten says two vehicles collided head-on, and a third flipped onto its side.

According to Petten, victims were left waiting for over an hour for an ambulance to be dispatched from Whitbourne because none were available locally.

He draws similarities to an incident that he raised on the floor of the legislature in which he says a shooting victim in CBS was left waiting for an ambulance and ultimately had to be taken to hospital by his father.

Petten states there is a “systemic issue” with the availability of ambulances and paramedics during emergencies, and lives are being put at risk.

He is urging the government to act urgently to stabilize ambulance response times.