Shocking figures show how much pressure emergency services are under
Shocking figures show how much pressure emergency services are under
Hundreds of patients were stuck in ambulances for over an hour waiting to be admitted to hospital over Christmas in Merseyside amid a soaring crisis in the NHS. There were a total of 2,906 arrivals by ambulance at NHS hospitals in Merseyside in the week ending December 29, according to the latest government figures – that’s at both emergency and non-emergency departments.
Almost one in every five (19%) of those, a total of 539 patients, had to wait over an hour before being admitted. Saturday December 28 was the worst day, with 145 patients stuck in ambulances for over an hour. Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had 240 patients with handover delays over an hour during the course of the week.
Meanwhile, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had a total of 216 and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had a total of 82. There was also one patient with a handover delay of over an hour at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
The situation in our region is worse than in England as a whole. One in every eight arrivals by ambulance at English NHS hospitals – a total of 12,229 patients – had handover delays of over an hour in the week ending December 29. Patients arriving by ambulance faced an average wait of two hours and one minute at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust on December 29.
The average was an hour and one minute over the course of that week though. The average handover time at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one hour 17 minutes on December 29, and an average of 49 minutes over the course of the week.Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had an average wait of one hour 19 minutes on December 29 and an average of 47 minutes over the course of the week.
The England average wait time on the 29th was 54 minutes. That’s lower than the peak for this winter season so far though. On November 25, patients waited an average of 59 minutes in order to be admitted to hospital from an ambulance.
Meanwhile, thousands of patients are staying in hospital for longer than is necessary. On Sunday December 29, a total of 16,313 patients across NHS hospitals in England were deemed well enough to be discharged.
Fewer than a third of those (5,135), however, were actually sent home. That left 11,178 patients (68% of the total) taking up hospital beds unnecessarily. A total of 1,030 patients in Merseyside hospital beds were deemed well enough to go home on December 29.Only 181 were discharged though (18%), meaning that 82% of people deemed well enough to go home were left to take up hospital beds.
Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting said: “The tidal wave of flu this winter has seen more than three times as many patients in hospital compared with last year, putting huge pressures on the NHS.
“This government has ended the strikes so staff are on the frontline this winter rather than the picket line, introduced the new RSV vaccine, and put immediate extra investment into the NHS.
“But we have been honest from day one that the status quo isn’t good enough. We are investing in and reforming our NHS, and grasping the nettle of social care reform, to finally break out of the cycle of annual winter crises, because there is no solution to the crisis in the NHS that doesn’t involve a solution to the social care crisis.”
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: “These latest figures show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the New Year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate.
“On top of flu there is also continual pressure from Covid, while RSV and norovirus hospital cases are also higher than last year, with hospitals putting in place an extra 1,300 beds last week than the same time last year in expectation of this continued pressure from viruses and other demand.
“With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions so if you are at risk, do try and keep warm and make sure you are stocked up on any regular medication.
“Please continue to use NHS 111 and 111 online if you need advice and support for health conditions, and only use 999 or attend A&E in life-threatening emergencies.”
