08 December 2023 , 11:55
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More than 8,000 patients arriving at hospital had to wait over an hour in ambulances before being admitted to A&E last week.
The latest figures from the NHS show the delay in handovers for the week ending December 3, with 8,184 people - or 9% of all arrivals by ambulance - having to spend more than an hour inside the vehicle at the hospital.
While the total number has fallen compared to the week before (8,239), there were also fewer arrivals, meaning that the proportion waiting over an hour has increased. One in every 12 patients (around 8%) arriving by ambulance had a handover delay of over an hour in the week ending November 26.
On Monday, November 27, the average handover time at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust was a staggering four and a half hours. That was the longest average wait at any trust in the country last week.
Things improved slightly at the trust on Tuesday when handover delays were four hours six minutes. On Wednesday it was four hours, on Thursday three hours 44 minutes, on Friday four hours six minutes, on Saturday ‘just’ two hours 12 minutes, and on Sunday three hours two minutes.
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At Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust the average was two hours 34 minutes, and at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust it was two hours 30 minutes, both also on the Monday. University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust also had the worst record for making patients wait for over an hour in ambulances.
A total of 377 arrivals by ambulance had a handover delay of over an hour. That works out as 63% of arrivals, up from 57% the previous week. At Portsmouth Hospitals University National Health Service Trust it was 44%, and at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust it was 43%.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have prepared for winter earlier than ever before and we are making good progress in cutting both A&E waits and ambulance response times. Compared to the same time last year, ambulance handover delays have fallen by 28%, thousands more 111 calls are being answered within 60 seconds, and there were nearly 1,500 more hospital beds available.
“We know there is more to do and that’s why we’re working to get 800 new ambulances on the road and create 5,000 extra permanent hospital beds, on top of 10,000 hospital at home beds already rolled out, to free up hospital capacity and cut waiting times.”