Patients waited three hours in ambulance as A&Es struggled
TWO Midlands patients had to wait more than three hours in the back of an ambulance before they could be admitted to A&E, it has been revealed
And less than half of all ambulance arrivals at Birmingham A&Es were able to hand over patients within the specified 15 minute-period.
Some 2,212 arrivals at West Midland A&Es took more than an hour to hand over in 2018-19.
This was up from 1,169 in 2017-18, and is the highest number since 2012-2013 when 2,795 took more than an hour.
The figures included two patients waiting three hours and 20 minutes to be handed over – one at Birming
ham’s Heartlands Hospital in July 2018 and one at Russells Hall, in Dudley, in March 2019.
The NHS stipulates that ambulances are supposed to hand over patients within 15 minutes of arriving so that crews can attend their next call.
But fewer than half (45.8 per cent) of the ambulance arrivals at West Midland A&Es were able to hand over patients within that 15-minute spell in 2018-19 – the lowest proportion since comparable figures began in 2011-12.
Two-fifths of handovers (42.4 per cent) took between 15 minutes and 30 minutes, while just over a tenth (10.7 per cent) took between 30 minutes and an hour.
The figures were revealed following a Freedom of Information request by the Birmingham Post. At Birmingham Children’s Hospital, 75.8 per cent of handovers took place in 15 minutes in 2018-19, while it was 73.7 per cent at City Hospital, Birmingham.
In comparison,
just
a
third
of handovers at Good Hope Hospital (34.1 per cent) and Russells Hall Hospital (34.3 per cent) took less than 15 minutes.
At Russells Hall Hospital, one in six handovers (17 per cent) took between 30 minutes and an hour, the highest proportion locally.
The hospital also saw 1,166 handovers take more than an hour in 2018-19 (2.7 per cent), which is up from 783 in 2017-18 and the highest since at least 2011-12.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Unfortunately, at times of peak demand, delays do occur at some hospitals.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), said: “UHB continues to deal with an unprecedented demand for services across our hospitals with a 5.4 per cent increase in attendances in 2018-19.
“Many patients are choosing to attend our Emergency Departments (A&E) due to the perception of long waits for GP appointments.
“The large number of people attending A&E, who could be appropriately seen in a GP surgery, walk-in centre or urgent care centre, causes a slowdown in the assessment times and assessment capacity of A&E, preventing the Trust from dealing with the most sick patients in the most efficient manner.
“Increased volumes of the most sick patients also means there is greater demand for specialist beds or more complex services, causing a slowdown in the speed of admitting patients into our hospitals from A&E.”