Addenbrooke's Hospital erects marquee for ambulance handovers

The marquee has been erected outside Addenbrooke's Hospital emergency department

A hospital has erected a marquee outside its emergency department to reduce ambulance handover delays.

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge said it was currently experiencing high demand.

It said the structure would help ambulances transfer patients "quickly and respond to other urgent calls".

The trust's board papers show that 27.2% of ambulance handovers were "clear" within 15 minutes in July 2021, compared to 60.6% for July 2019.

The hospital said the structure was only used when the ambulance service was experiencing a high level of demand and when all other actions to reduce handover delays had been taken.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) said patients received the same level of care in the structure as they would in the back of an ambulance, with East of England Ambulance Service staff present and emergency equipment available.

A CUH spokeswoman said: "We are currently experiencing high demand at our emergency department and to ensure ambulances can handover patients to us quickly and respond to other urgent calls, we have provided a temporary structure at the front of the department where patients can be cared for by ambulance staff before being triaged by a hospital clinician.

"The public can help us at this time by considering alternative services, including using 111 online for urgent medical help and advice."