Shocking delays in ambulance patient hospital handovers

A quarter of all ambulances suffered a 30-minute wait

ONE in four ambulances arriving at Greater Manchester A&Es last week faced a wait of more than half an hour to handover patients.

New figures show 1,147 ambulances were delayed for 30 minutes or more at A&Es run by hospital trusts across Greater Manchester in the week ending December 15.

That was 22.3 per cent of all ambulance arrivals last week.

At Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS trust, a fifth of ambulances (31pc) had to wait more than 30 minutes last week, while it was 29.7pc at Stockport NHS trust.

The figures across Greater Manchester include 809 ambulances that had to wait between 30 minutes and an hour – down from 879 a week before but up 623 in the same week last year.

There were also 338 ambulances waiting more than an hour, compared to 258 in the week ending December 9, and more than triple the 100 recorded in the same week in 2018.

The target is for handovers to take under 15 minutes.

A&Es at Stockport NHS trust were so busy last week, they agreed to temporarily divert patients to other A&E departments to relieve pressure once during the week. There were also 46 beds closed at the trust last Sunday because of norovirus-type illnesses, as well as 20 closed at Bolton NHS trust.

Bed occupancy levels at the trust were also higher than recommended safe levels.

Last week, the highest levels, on average, in Greater Manchester were 97.6pc of general and acute beds occupied at Tameside Hospital NHS trust and 96.2pc at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS trust.

For general beds, health experts say occupancy levels over 85pc lead to bed shortages and a rise in infections such as MRSA. A study found bed occupancy levels under 90pc led to a drop in death rates and an improvement in waiting time performance in A&E.

In intensive care, an average of 92.5pc of beds at Stockport NHS trust were occupied, as were 89.8pc at Salford Royal NHS trust – the highest levels in Greater Manchester.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists’ said persistent bed occupancy of more than 70pc in critical care units suggests that a unit is too small.

Across England, the number of ambulances facing long waits to hand over patients has jumped by 41pc in a week.

There were 4,469 ambulances delays of more than an hour in the week ending December 15, up from 3,179 the week before.

Hospital trusts across England were also seeing high numbers of beds closed due to norovirus and high bed occupancy levels in the second week of December.

There were 838 beds closed due to norovirus-type illnesses on Sunday (December 15), according to the NHS England figures. That is more than double the 301 closed in the same week in 2018.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Hospitals now have more beds open than this time last year, but flu and norovirus have kicked in a bit earlier so are adding pressure at a time when the NHS is already looking after significantly more people than ever before.

“The NHS has already looked after a million more people in A&E this year compared to last, and as we head into the holiday period it’s really important that the public help our hardworking staff by getting their flu vaccine now, using the NHS 111 phone and online service for urgent medical needs, and seeing their local pharmacist for minor ailments.”