Record payouts over 999 ambulance delays soar by more than a triple

28 July 2023 , 19:13

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Payouts for ambulance delays are soaring (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Payouts for worsening 999 delays have more than tripled in ten years. Negligence claims cost ambulance services a record £20.6mil-lion in 2020/21 compared to just £6million a decade earlier.

Claims included a baby with cerebral palsy having to wait an hour to get to hospital and a heart attack victim who died because there was no transport. Medical negligence lawyers Devonshires say compensation amounts have jumped 383% in ten years. It is feared the total could hit £33million by 2028.

The figures come a day after the Care Quality Commission said the number of patients waiting for up to four hours in A&E had more than tripled from 4% in 2020 to 17% last year.Ambulance times for the most urgent cases were also up from 7.03 mins in 2020-21 to 9.13 in 2022/3. Response times for less urgent calls rose from 20.57 mins to 50.01 – way off the 18-minute target.

Sara Gorton, of union Unison, said: “Ambulance services face immense pressures. There are too few staff and they’re stretched to breaking point,” said Sara Gorton, head of health at UNISON, which represents ambulance crews. The hike in pay-outs is a measure of the true cost of cuts to health and social care. Delays can mean incredible upset and trauma for families and bring careers to an end if staff are put into critical situations without the right training or back-up. Reforming the care system would help speed up access to A&E. That would free up more ambulances and trained crew for emergency incidents.”

The Department of Health said: “Ambulance response times have substantially reduced from the winter peak.”

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