'Horrendous' ambulance delays at West Midlands hospitals

Average delays reached nearly three hours at one hospital in early December

An ambulance crew had to wait seven hours to hand over a patient in the West Midlands, it has been revealed.

The case on 11 December was highlighted in the West Midlands Ambulance Service's in-house magazine, which said average waits had "ballooned".

It said average waits at one hospital were running at nearly three hours in early December.

The ambulance service said it hoped to put another 40 crews on the road by January.

Delays in hospitals taking over care of patients is considered "risky", NHS England said, because it not only delayed patients receiving specialist assessment and treatment, but also reduced the number of ambulances available to respond to emergencies.

The West Midlands trust's weekly briefing magazine, published on 17 December, said only the East of England trust had experienced a similar level of "horrendous" delays.

It added that another four hospitals in the West Midlands had average delays of about two hours.

The "knock-on" effect it said was some high-risk patients were waiting longer for an ambulance than they should.

Meanwhile, some staff had to work late beyond their shifts and missed meal breaks.

"Seasonal pressures" are putting strain on emergency departments, as well as rising Covid-19 admissions

Chief Executive Anthony Marsh said the matter was being escalated daily to hospital medical directors.

"We will continue to work as hard as possible to support crews and protect patients," he told the magazine.

The ambulance service said it had increased the number of vehicles on the road by 5% over the last year and was putting more ambulances on day shifts.

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Problems have been identified at University Hospitals Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and more recently in Worcestershire.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: "Teams across our three emergency departments are working incredibly hard to ensure patients receive appropriate and safe care.

"Additional seasonal pressures mean more than 850 patients are attending our emergency departments each day - in addition to the significant challenges posed by coronavirus."