A woman was turned away from Lewisham Hospital due to a queue of 15 ambulances outside - and then spent 12 hours on a trolley at Woolwich, it has been claimed.

Lewisham East Mp Heidi Alexander made the astonishing claim on behalf of one of her constituents during a heated Commons debate on ambulance waiting times with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on January 13.

She told him: "Last week, one of my constituents had a fall and fractured her pubic bone. She was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich because 15 ambulances were stuck in a queue outside Lewisham. She then waited 12 hours on a trolley."

The case comes as figures released last week showed both Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals missed key targets for waiting times during the past three months, with services particularly stretched over Christmas.

Those figures added renewed criticism to Mr Hunt's plan to downgrade Lewisham Hospital's A&E - a plan which was defeated in the courts by local campaigners and Lewisham Council.

Ms Alexander, who played a key part in that campaign, asked Mr Hunt: "If the Secretary of State had got his way and been successful in his attempt to axe services at Lewisham, exactly how much longer would he have expected my constituent to wait? 

"Is it not true that if he had got his way the A&E in Woolwich would have been totally and utterly overwhelmed?"

The Health Secretary replied: "No, and I can tell the honourable lady that her constituents would be receiving far worse care had we not tackled the long-standing issues with the South London Healthcare NHS Trust, which the last gvernment ducked but which we have confronted and dealt with."

Afterwards she told News Shopper: "Jeremy Hunt’s reply was dangerously dismissive. He, in effect, told me that his plans for Lewisham wouldn’t have made the A&E crisis any worse. What planet is he on?"

A spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: "We are unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, but we apologise to anyone who has had a long wait to receive care.

"It is rare for someone to wait this length of time for treatment, but there are times when a high number of patients requiring urgent and emergency care mean that some patients do have to wait longer than we would like for treatment. 

"The most seriously ill patients are always prioritised and treated more quickly than those with less urgent needs. Last week, 87.6% per cent of patients were treated within four hours in the emergency department at University Hospital Lewisham, and 82.8% per cent of patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“We are working with our partners to improve the flow of patients through our emergency services. Like many Trusts, we have found meeting the four hour A&E waiting target a challenge – despite the hard work of our staff. The large number of patients requiring hospital treatment continues to increase.”

“It’s also important that local people only use emergency departments (A&Es) for emergencies and for when they need urgent hospital care.  You can visit nhs.uk or call 111 if you want to find out the options which are available, such as pharmacists which are open late.”