Patient had to wait 18 hours in ambulance outside A&E
Delays hit new record amid ‘failures’ by SNP
A PATIENT was forced to spend 18 hours in an ambulance outside A&E waiting for a hospital bed.
Despite being taken for treatment to University Hospital Crosshouse (UHC) in Kilmarnock, a shortage of beds meant the patient couldn’t be admitted.
Instead they had to endure the long wait while parked outside in the vehicle.
The shocking delay came to light as figures obtained by the Scottish Mail on Sunday show ambulances are having to queue for longer than ever at hospitals.
The logjams mean emergency crews waiting to drop off patients can’t respond to 999 calls for other critically ill people. Rising demand for beds and delayed discharges mean staff struggle to find space for new patients.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) acknowledged average turnaround times – the time taken to drop off patients and get back on the road – last week rose to a new high of 41 minutes 31 seconds.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘This is symptomatic of the interconnected crises plaguing our NHS. Years of SNP mismanagement have created a healthcare system filled with choke points and bottlenecks like this.
‘The SNP’s abject failure to tackle A&E waiting times has prevented ambulances from quickly admitting patients and getting back on the road to help more people.
‘These delays inevitably lead to more suffering for patients and – ultimately – avoidable deaths.’
Jamie McNamee, the Unite union’s SAS convener, said: ‘Despite additional investment in the NHS, these figures show there has been no improvement in turnaround times, with patients experiencing unacceptable delays including up to 18 hours in an ambulance before being seen.
‘This has a massive detrimental impact on the health of the patients, not to mention on the well-being of staff. We need investment to build capacity in the right places to free up ambulance resources so we can address the consequences of these unacceptable turnaround times.’
The previous highest average turnaround time recorded in Scotland was around 40 minutes last October.
As well as the 18-hour delay at UHC, the latest data shows another patient had to wait 15 hours in an ambulance at the same hospital.
The previous official longest turnaround time was 11 hours and 17 minutes, recorded in 2018.
Debbie Hardie, interim site director of UHC, said: ‘Each patient is triaged on arrival and prioritised based on clinical need. Unfortunately, sometimes patients wait longer than we would wish and we are making continuous efforts to find ways to eliminate these delays.’
The Scottish Ambulance Service said: ‘Our national median for turnaround times last week was 41 minutes 31 seconds. Turnaround times continue to be a significant challenge and restrict the ability of our staff to get back out to help other patients.’