A Leading local councillor has highlighted the problem of ambulance response times after witnessing a 20 minute wait for help to arrive for a stricken woman on the seafront.
The woman collapsed in Marine Parade last Wednesday.
He said: "I know they are doing their best with the resources. But I saw the woman collapse and then she was looking very pale. The rapid response vehicle arrived pretty quickly.
"But the ambulance didn't get there for quite some time.
"I've seen far too much of it. That's why I've been pushing for this measure - I don't want someone dying on my patch."
South East Coast Ambulance Service admitted it is falling short of the national target for 75 per cent of calls to be responded to within eight minutes.
Although Kent as a whole met the standards, the south Kent coast clocked in at 73 per cent for 2012.
A service spokesman said: "We are extremely busy at the moment and realise improvements can be made - there's a lot of work to be done still. We can only apologise to the woman in question if it caused any personal distress, but we can only respond as quickly as we possibly can."
Most ambulances for Dover leave from Ashford, where on a typical day 13 vehicles are stationed alongside five rapid response cars.
There are also temporary response points in Whitfield and at the old ambulance station in Winchelsea Road, which closed as a fully operational facility in 2011. Cllr Collor revealed funding has already been set aside by Kent County Council for four defibrillators will be installed at 300 yard intervals and may be in place by the summer.
The sight of the medical aids are becoming increasingly common in Britain and the rest of Europe.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
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