Long waits to transfer patients from ambulances to hospitals
PATIENTS are having to wait in ambulances for up to 17 hours before being admitted into Welsh accident and emergency departments, shock new figures have revealed.
Exclusive data obtained by the Glamorgan Gazette has uncovered that one patient spent 17 hours and 42 minutes in an ambulance from arriving at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend before being handed over to A&E staff.
This was the worst wait recorded by the Welsh Ambulance Service in the 2018-19 financial year, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
The call, made in October 2018, had been logged as “amber” which is categorised as serious but not immediately life-threatening. Overall, 30,354 ambulance arrivals at Welsh A&Es took more than an hour to hand over in 2018-19, which equates to 8.7% of the total for the 12-month period.
Ambulances are supposed to hand over patients within 15 minutes of arriving at A&E departments so crews can be freed up to attend their next call.
But only a third (35.5%) of ambulance arrivals at Welsh A&Es were able to meet this target – the lowest proportion since 33.8% in 2012-13.
A paramedic whistleblower claims handover delays are one of the biggest factors in lowering staff morale. He added that he felt very sorry for staff in A&E who were having to contend with huge volumes of patients.
“The delays could even be making some conditions like asthma and COPD worse for patients, because they’re in the ambulances for so long,” he said.
Welsh Ambulance Service director of operations Lee Brooks said handover delays were a feature of pressures in the wider NHS system.
He said ambulance crew members were incredibly frustrated at being stuck outside A&E departments for hours on end unable to reach other patients in their communities.
“When the wider healthcare system is under pressure, handover delays are often the result,” he said.
“While these delays are frustrating for our staff, who have to provide the best care they can in unsuitable environments, often for long periods, we are very concerned about the impact on our patients.
“This is not just those patients who are delayed in receiving the hospital care they need, but those patients in our communities who may need our help.
“When our teams and vehicles are delayed at hospital, this reduces the resources we have available to help those patients.”
He added that it was really important for people to make “sensible choices” about when they call 999 or turn up to emergency units.
“These services are not there as an alternative to going to see your pharmacist, GP or dentist and it’s important that we get that message across. If you’re unsure about the right service for you, NHS Direct Wales or 111, where it is available, can help.”
In Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, ambulance crews are told to drop their patients straight off at the hospital so they can reach other calls as quickly as possible.
As a result, Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil (82.5%) and Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant (70.8%) had the best 15-minute handover performance in Wales.
However, the health board has recently taken over responsibility for the Princess of Wales Hospital which, in contrast, recorded just 22.7% of handovers within 15 minutes.
A spokeswoman for Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB said: “We have placed significant focus on patient transfers from ambulances into our hospitals and as a result we have seen an improvement in our ambulance handover performance at both the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
“In April 2019, the responsibility for healthcare services across Bridgend, including the Princess of Wales Hospital, transferred to Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB and further work will be undertaken in all areas to identify additional opportunities for improvement.”
Concerns about long handover times delaying ambulance responses have been raised by coroners following inquests as potentially putting patients at risk.