Ambulance handover delays at their worst, says NHS

The Northamptonshire ICB discussed the ongoing winter pressures at its most recent meeting

Health leaders have described a county's ambulance handover and response times as the "worst" they have ever been.

Figures showed less than half of ambulance handovers at Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals were completed within 30 minutes in October, which was a decline from 65% during the same period last year.

The statistics were presented during a meeting of the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) on 19 December.

For the first time, ambulance handovers completed within 60 minutes dropped below 75%, and by late November three-quarters of patients waited more than 30 minutes to be transferred to A&E.

Eileen Doyle, Northampton ICB's chief operating officer, said: "The ambulance response times in the county are as bad as they have ever been.

"Many of our teams are embedded in what feels like a winter that started about four or five weeks earlier than last year."

The Northamptonshire ICB meeting was held at Haylock House in Kettering, Northamptonshire

Data seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, shows Category 2 ambulance response times - for serious but non-life-threatening cases - averaged 75 minutes in October, which far exceeded the national target of 18 minutes.

Ms Doyle added that overcrowded, small A&E departments contributed to delays.

"This is the most challenged I've ever seen ambulances. It's trying to balance everything, particularly the winter effect, and not taking down lots of activity," she added.

Toby Sanders, Northampton ICB's chief executive, called the situation "pretty much amongst the worst I can recall in my NHS career".

He added that local organisations' response to the pressures has been "admirable".