Ambulance handover delays: Hospitals blame 'delayed discharges'

Pressure on health services is leading to delays when patients are handed over from ambulances into A&E

One in five ambulance patients in England waited more than an hour to be handed to A&E teams during the week leading up to Christmas.

Among trusts which had more than 500 ambulance arrivals, the highest proportion of patients waiting over an hour was 54% at University Hospitals Bristol & Weston.

This was followed by Gloucestershire Hospitals at 53%.

NHS England said hospitals are being "impacted by delayed discharges".

The figure is down from nearly one in four the previous week, partly due to industrial action by ambulance workers on 21 December.

On the day of the strike, the proportion of patients waiting over an hour was 14% compared with an average across the week of 20%.

However the figures are well above the 4% for the equivalent week last year and 3% in 2020.

The highest proportion of patients waiting over an hour was at University Hospitals Bristol & Weston

A total of 37% of handovers last week were delayed by at least 30 minutes, down from 41% the previous week but higher than the 13% recorded at this point in 2021 and 11% in 2020.

NHS trusts have a target of 95% of all ambulance handovers to be completed within 30 minutes, with 100% within 60 minutes.

Following Bristol & Weston and Gloucestershire in the proportion of patients waiting over an hour, were University Hospitals of North Midlands at 50% (307 of 619), Mid & South Essex at 46% (406 of 887), North Bristol at 44% (237 of 538) and Shrewsbury & Telford also at 44% (224 of 512).

Health leaders in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire say the health and care system is under "intense pressure"

NHS England said hospital capacities were being affected by delayed discharging of patients, with 12,313 beds a day taken up by patients who were ready to leave.

"Staff pulled out all the stops to ensure as many patients as possible were able to spend Christmas with loved ones at home," a spokesperson said, adding that the figure for delayed discharges was the lowest since August.

Hospitals are also facing pressure from a rise in winter viruses and patients testing positive for Covid-19.

Professor Mark Pietroni, director of safety and medical director at Gloucestershire Hospitals, said they were working to address the issues and had made some "very significant improvements" in reducing handover times.

"The health and care system in Gloucestershire remains under considerable pressure. This situation has been compounded by staffing challenges, resulting in unusually long waits relative to recent weeks.

"It is important to stress that all patients arriving by ambulance and waiting to come into our emergency departments are assessed to ensure they are given the correct level of priority," he added.

University Hospitals Bristol & Weston has been approached for comment.

Ambulance handovers delayed by at least 30 minutes have been higher this year than in the previous two years

Meanwhile, health leaders in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire have said that delays in discharging patients is contributing to "unprecedented demand" on services.

They say the health and care system is under "intense pressure" with record numbers in A&E.

Chief nurse, Gill May, said: "We are appealing to local people to help us get loved ones home from hospital, using the right health and care service when looking for support, practicing effective self-care, visiting pharmacies for help with minor ailments and following advice from NHS 111."

Dr Jon Westbrook, chief medical officer at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: "We are asking the public to do all they can to support us at this extremely busy time."