East Midlands Ambulance Service cannot offer consistently safe service

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) workers from the GMB union are taking action as part of a national pay dispute

A meeting of an ambulance service trust has heard it is unable to deliver a "consistently safe service".

The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) trust meeting heard almost 28,000 hours had been lost to delays in December, the biggest loss on record.

A trust report said patients were coming to harm "as a direct result" of the delays and the number of serious incidents was likely to rise.

The meeting heard the sharp increase was down to handover delays.

'Profound impact'

Bosses said the lost hours - equivalent to the loss of 74 12-hour staff shifts a day - were due to the difficulty with patients moving through emergency care in hospitals and high numbers awaiting discharge.

Chief executive Richard Henderson said strike action by the GMB union, due to take place on Wednesday, would have a further impact on the service.

Staff absences caused by flu spikes are also causing pressures, with more than 100 more staff absent at one point in December 2022 than the previous year.

The trust took 20,000 more calls in December 2022 than the previous December.

Mr Henderson said the impact of sustained pressure was having a "profound impact on staff welfare" and frustration over spending hours delayed with patients was a "significant issue".

He also called the delays "phenomenal".

"Figures we've seen during the winter period have been significant and absolutely had a detrimental impact on our ability to respond," he said.

The trust is not currently meeting any of the six national operational performance standards.

Mr Henderson also noted some improvements were being seen - but that the service was still operating under pressure.

Rachel Harrison, the GMB national secretary, said: "To end this dispute, GMB needs a concrete offer to help resolve the NHS's crushing recruitment and retention crisis."