Ambulances have failed to meet response targets for life-threatening incidents for the second year in a row in Tayside.
New figures show that paramedics across the region are struggling to make it to the most serious emergencies within the eight-minute target.
The Scottish Ambulance Service target requires that ambulances arrive on the scene within that time in 75% of Category A cases, which are the highest priority.
Tayside ambulances hit that time target on 71% of those call-outs in 2015/16, compared with 74% the previous year. They matched the target in 2013/14.
In Brechin last year, only half reached the eight-minute target.
Alex Johnstone, Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East Region, said: “These response time figures are clearly very worrying, with an unacceptably poor performance in areas covered by stations in Angus towns like Brechin, Forfar and Monifieth.
“We have heard anecdotal evidence that ambulances are taking as long as half an hour or more to reach accident scenes in the North East.
“There are always a number of factors that can explain drops in performance, but it seems that the service in this area is seriously over-stretched and under-resourced.”
The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives in a freedom of information request. At Brechin station, the 2015/16 figure for Category A was just 51%, while in Forfar it was 61.7%. Perth was also below par with 72% rate, but Dundee hit the target with 76%.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Ambulance teams in Tayside are busier than ever as emergency demand continues to increase.
“The service is addressing this by investing in an additional frontline staff and a five-year recruitment programme will create 1,000 new paramedics in Scotland, many of whom will be deployed in Tayside, to enhance the clinical skills mix of our staff and introduce new ways of working to best meet the needs of patients.”