Devon hospitals urged to tackle ambulance waiting times

NHS Devon said it was sorry for the delays people have experienced and for the huge anxiety this caused

A report has recommended hospitals change their process to reduce waiting times by ambulances.

Devon County Council's Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee said hospitals should adopt rapid assessments used at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

It said the hospital "does not have the issue with ambulances waiting outside its emergency department".

NHS Devon said it was sorry for the delays people had experienced and for the "huge anxiety" this had caused.

A committee report said South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST) had consistently longer wait times at hospitals than the national average.

The NHS standard contract states that all handovers of patients between ambulances and emergency departments must take place within 15 minutes, with none taking more than 30 minutes.

SWAST had 36% of handovers delayed by 30 minutes or more in the week ending 20 February 2022 according to the report.

This was significantly more than other regions such as the south east with 12% and in London which was 14%.

The Royal Devon and Exeter approach meant patients were assessed as either able to sit in the waiting room or were provided with a trolley until a bed was available, rather than remain in an ambulance outside the hospital.

The report also acknowledged that ambulance waiting times had complex roots.

And it said there were extra pressures on Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, which is the regional major trauma centre as well as the regional centre for brain surgery, kidney transplants and complex liver issues.

John Finn of the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group said patient safety and care was "our number one priority".

He said: "We are sorry for the delays people have experienced and for the huge anxiety this causes to patients and their families and to hard working frontline staff.

"Ambulance handover delays are a symptom of pressure across the entire health and care system, both nationally and here in Devon and we are working together as a system to reduce them."