Royal Stoke A&E pressures see blood tests carried out in ambulances

Staff absence and rising Covid cases have led to a challenging time at Royal Stoke's A&E, bosses say

Staff at Royal Stoke University Hospital are carrying out blood tests in the back of ambulances because of pressure on A&E.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service source said ambulances had now become "big yellow cubicles".

On Thursday, there were 20 crews from across the West Midlands outside the hospital waiting to hand over patients.

University Hospital North Midlands (UHNM) said a rise in Covid cases was adding to other pressures.

It is understood patients were being taken into hospital for scans and X-rays and then brought back out to the vehicles.

"Our ambulances are basically a great big yellow outside cubicle, " the source told BBC Midlands Today.

Patients have, however, been provided with food and drink on the ambulances.

"Ambulance crews have to organise among themselves - one looks after the patient while the other pops to the toilet or gets food or something to drink," the BBC was told.

It was claimed one patient had been in the emergency department for 45 hours, waiting for a bed.

Paul Bytheway, Chief Operating Officer at UHNM, said it had seen an increase in the number of people accessing A&E.

At the same time, he said the trust was facing challenges due to a rise in Covid-19 infection rates, staff absences and more patients on wards waiting to be discharged.

"We would never want our patients to wait unnecessarily and would like to apologise to our patients who unfortunately have had to wait in ambulances," he said.

"We are introducing new ways of working to improve the flow of patients both through the Emergency Departments and our hospitals."

The trust also repeated its message that there were alternatives to A&E for those who do not need emergency treatment.