Heart patients now waiting 90 minutes for an ambulance
New low for 999 response times and A&E delays02
HEART attack and stroke patients are now waiting an hour and a half for an ambulance after 999 response times and A&E delays hit the worst levels on record.
Health experts warn that the latest NHS England figures expose a ‘deep crisis’ in emergency care that is causing hundreds of avoidable deaths each week.
Ambulances took an average of one hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds to respond to ‘category two’ calls, such as heart attacks, strokes, major burns and epileptic seizures, in December.
This is five times longer than the target of 18 minutes, more than 50 per cent higher than the previous record high and more than double the average wait of 43 minutes in November.
In some parts of the country the delays are even worse, with people in the South West waiting an average of two hours, 39 minutes and12 seconds for a category two response.
One in ten in the region suffering a heart attack, stroke or similar emergency waited a staggering six hours, 39 minutes and 34 seconds. Nationbudget ally, average response times for the most critical ‘category one’ calls, where a patient’s heart has stopped or they are not breathing, was 10 minutes and 57 seconds. This is against a target of seven minutes and is again the worst on record.
Meanwhile, the number waiting more than 12 hours in A&E from a decision to admit to actually being given a bed on a ward has risen above 50,000 for the first time.
Some 54,532 people waited longer than 12 hours on a chair or trolley in A&E in December, many in corridors. This is up 44 per cent from 37,837 in November and the highest total in records dating back to 2010.
The NHS is experiencing a crisis despite a huge increase in funding. The Department of Health and Social Care between from response Downing £49billion almost 2001/2 Street times to and quadrupled said £191billion. and 2021/22, the A& 999 E delays are but ‘obviously the Government unacceptable’ is ‘very focused’ on improving NHS performance.
Ambulances are spending too long queuing outside A&E to drop off patients, leaving crews unable to respond promptly to new 999 calls. A shortage of beds is causing a bottleneck. Dr Sonya BabuNarayan, of the British Heart Foundation, described the delays as ‘extreme’. She added: ‘The difference between life and death can be a matter of minutes when someone is having a heart attack or stroke.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director at NHS England, said: ‘As staff responded to record A&E attendances, 999 calls and emergency ambulance callouts as the “twindemic” led to unprecedented levels of respiratory illness, they also continued
‘Minutes between life and death’
to deliver for patients with more people than ever before receiving diagnostic tests and cancer treatment.’ ÷The number of patients on NHS waiting lists has fallen for the first time since the start of the pandemic, official figures show.
There were 7.19million people waiting for routine treatment such as cataract operations and hip replacements at the end of November, down from 7.21million in October.