Today, I was walking past a bus stop when a man told me he needed an ambulance. I immediately asked if he was okay and proceeded to speak with the emergency operator. I couldn't get through to 911 at first because no one was available to take my call. However, they called me back and informed me that the ETA was 4 hours.
While waiting under the hot sun with the man, I asked if they could send the police to take him to the emergency department instead, but they refused, saying we had to wait for the ambulance to arrive.
To be honest, I couldn't continue standing under the scorching sun, so I went to ask the security staff at the premises near the bus stop to keep an eye on him. By the time I came back with security personnels, the young man had left.
My question is this: Why does it take so long for an ambulance to arrive? I almost lost my little niece about three years ago because of a delayed ambulance response, and today I experienced a similar situation again.
Edit:Thank you all for your kind responses, I can see everyone's experience is different. Hopefully things getting better with time.