Almost 200,000 patients are estimated to have been damaged so far this year ambulance delays, like NHS Leaders forced to respond to ‘unprecedented crisis’
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives has warned that the ‘safety net’ of patients having emergency care when they need it is now ‘severely compromised’ with patients dying and being harmed on a daily basis.
Reports from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, seen by The Independent, suggest that 190,000 patients have been “harmed” since January due to delays in handing over ambulances, 20,000 of whom have suffered serious injuries. The analysis includes risks for patients waiting at home after a fall or stroke.
Since January, delays in handing over ambulances have continued to mount, with 19,000 being delayed for at least two hours outside the hospital in June.
Victoria Vallence, Director of Secondary and Specialty Health Care at the Care Quality Commission The Independent Escalating pressure on the NHS is “strong” and the CQC had “very real” concerns about the risk to patients waiting “unacceptably” long waits for help.
She said the CQC is also concerned about the impact the exposure is having on paramedics and hospital staff.
The government was criticized by Labor Party shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who called on ministers to “get a grip” on the country’s leadership.
He said: “12 years of conservative mismanagement have brought our emergency services to a crisis. Patients are left far longer than safe and lives are lost as a result.”
The heatwave has escalated the already “heavy” pressure on NHS ambulances, confidence leaders have warned paramedic and patients waiting in ambulances outside the emergency room are being left in “dangerously hot and unsafe” vehicles.
Mounting pressure on the sector has led national NHS leaders to tell hospitals ambulances cannot be held outside emergency rooms for more than 30 minutes.
“Terrible” 10 hour wait
(Marian Pierce)
Mariane Pierce, daughter of Doirine Pierce of Eastbourne, described how her 86-year-old mother had to wait 10 hours for an ambulance twice in the last three months.
Last Sunday she had a seizure and was unconscious for four minutes and emergency services were called at 7:30am but didn’t arrive until 5:30am.
Ms Pierce said: “The worry and stress of it [wait] is horrific and you just sit there looking at the clock and wondering what on earth is going on. [Mum] waited anxiously for the seizure to happen again. I know they are overwhelmed, but at the same time someone has to do something about it.
Ian Sturgess’ mother, Sarah Varney-Burch, from Kent, also had to wait 10 hours in pain in a ‘cold room’ last Sunday after falling and breaking her hip. Mr Strugess said his mother developed a lung infection which he believes was linked to the long wait in the cold.
“Dangerously Hot”
Ambulance services in the West Midlands told staff in an internal message this week that they should warn “category two” patients who have stroke responses are taking 17 minutes to respond.
In a letter seen by The Independent Yorkshire Ambulance Trust boss Rob Barnes has urged hospital directors to take a “zero tolerance” approach to delays in handing over ambulances.
The letter added: “There is limited capacity to maintain safe temperatures aboard stationary vehicles and within a short period of time they are becoming dangerously hot and unsafe for both patients and ambulance staff. It is unacceptable to tolerate this practice.”
Delays in ambulance responses are compounded by delays in crews unloading patients at hospitals, and NHS England was urged on Friday to send a letter to all healthcare leaders
It said hospitals are not allowed to hold ambulances for more than 30 minutes outside of A&E and warns: “The level of risk ambulances carry on behalf of systems is now further due to the heatwave we are experiencing and which is expected to continue increased next week as well as increased staff absences due to Covid-19.”
NHS leaders have been asked to move patients who have completed their emergency care out of the emergency department “immediately”. It added that healthcare leaders should step up efforts to ensure employee well-being and support, including staying hydrated properly.
As ambulance delays worsen, the data will be seen by The Independent At the May shows, more than 100,000 patients waited more than 12 hours after their arrival – a fifth of those in attendance.
Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the 12-hour wait was “off the scale” in June.
Martin Flaherty, OBE QAM, Chief Executive of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said: “First of all, we must recognize the tireless hard work and dedication of staff across the NHS ambulance sector who are doing their utmost to continue to respond to patients when they call us need most.
“However, the current pressure on the emergency services is unprecedented and has been increasing for some time. The ultimate safety net for the NHS is that patients who are critically ill or injured can access an ambulance within a timeframe appropriate to their hospital. That safety net is now seriously compromised and unfortunately patients are dying and injured as a result every day.”
“The biggest single issue impacting the ambulance sector’s ability to respond appropriately is unprecedented delays in hospital patient transfers.”
Mr Flaherty said the current situation will require “difficult” decisions by ministers and NHS England, adding “the biggest single risk for patients in the NHS now is not being able to get an ambulance to a patient in the right time frame”.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been asked for comment.
