Hundreds of patients were stuck in ambulances for over an hour waiting to be admitted to hospital over Christmas in Lancashire.
There were a total of 3,036 arrivals by ambulance at NHS hospitals in Lancashire in the week ending December 29, according to the latest government figures. One in every 12 (8%) of those – a total of 258 patients – had to wait over an hour before being admitted to both emergency and non-emergency departments.
The figures come as Lancashire’s hospitals are being hit hard by flu sweeping the country. In a statement issued this morning (January 8), Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they are currently seeing “significantly high demand” for their services, including a “high number of people attending our A&E department which is causing long waiting times”.
They said: “If you need NHS care, please use the right service for your condition, such as only attending A&E in emergency and life-threatening situations. If you are unsure where to go, visit 111.nhs.uk to be directed to the right service.”
The country is facing what the NHS has described as a ‘tidal wave’ of Covid-19, flu, RSV and norovirus – also dubbed a ‘quad-demic’ by health bosses. The health service has warned this winter flu season could be its worst ever as cases continue to soar.
The situation in our region is better than in England as a whole. One in every eight (13%) 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.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust had the joint worst records in our county. One in every 10 arrivals by ambulance at both trusts had to wait over an hour.
A total of 78 arrivals at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust were stuck in an ambulance for over an hour, which was 8% of all arrivals. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had a rate of 7%, meanwhile.
Patients arriving by ambulance at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust faced delays of an average of an hour and 36 minutes on December 29. That was the trust’s longest average handover delay of the week though, with the typical wait in that period being 36 minutes.
The average handover delay in England was 37 minutes in the week ending December 29, though the average wait did go up to 54 minutes on the 29th itself. All other trusts in Lancashire have average delays that week of half an hour or under.
Meanwhile, thousands of patients are staying in hospital for longer than is necessary. On 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 431 patients in Lancashire hospital beds were deemed well enough to go home on December 29.
Only 145 were discharged though (34%), meaning that two thirds of people deemed well enough to go home were left to take up hospital beds. The situation was worst at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust where only 18% of patients (25 in total) deemed well enough to go home were discharged.
At Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust just 28% of well patients were sent home, while in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust it was 42%, and in Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust it was 50%.
An NHS spokesperson said: “While handover delays were reduced over the last year ahead of winter despite services contending with record levels of ambulance call-outs, there is clearly much more still to do to reduce unacceptably long waits for patients in some areas of the country. With increased demand and high bed occupancy in hospitals having a huge impact on handover times, NHS teams across the country are prioritising the sickest patients and doing all they can to prevent avoidable admissions including by treating patients at home where possible and only conveying to hospital when necessary.
“Latest data shows emergency services are experiencing major pressure as we enter the new year, with staff having worked tirelessly to prepare for another busy winter by delivering almost 29 million vaccinations and rolling out proven measures like same day emergency care, making better use of live data, and delivering more care in the community including through urgent response teams.”
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