Hospital has longest ambulance waits despite new £30m unit

Great Western Hospital takes the longest to handover time in England

A Wiltshire hospital has the longest ambulance handover times in the country, new data reveals.

More than 75% of patients waited longer than 30 minutes to be handed to A&E teams at Swindon's Great Western Hospital last week.

The figures, based on data published by NHS England, come just months after the hospital opened a new £30m emergency unit.

A hospital spokesperson said their urgent and emergency care services are "under significant pressure", but teams are "working hard to minimise delays".

RUH Bath came fourth in the list

They added that some patients remain in the care of the ambulance service so patients with "the most life-threatening conditions can be prioritised first".

When the new unit opened in July, hospital bosses said they hoped the investment into new cubicles would reduce waiting times.

New resuscitation bays, including one for children have been installed at Great Western Hospital

Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Somerset came fourth in the list.

A RUH Bath spokesperson said they are increasing the capacity in departments which provide same day emergency care.

"Our teams work tirelessly to provide the best possible care in the Emergency Department and are working hard to eliminate waits.

"We are sorry that some patients arriving by ambulance still experience waits longer than we would like," they added.

Below is the list of hospitals with the longest ambulance queues in England. It has been ordered by the percentage of handovers longer than 30 minutes, starting with the highest.

• Great Western Hospitals 420, 316, 75.2%

• Kettering General Hospital 586, 439, 74.9%

• University Hospitals Plymouth 593, 427, 72.0%

• Royal United Hospitals Bath 503, 357, 71.0%

• Northampton General Hospital 565, 400, 70.8%

• Royal Cornwall Hospitals 577, 403, 69.8%

• The Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital 695, 481, 69.2%

• University Hospitals of Derby & Burton 1,087, 734, 67.5%

• The Dudley Group 647, 431, 66.6%

• Torbay & South Devon 466, 299, 64.2%