As the latest monthly NHS performance statistics indicated record ambulance delays, Nuffield Trust’s deputy director of research, Sarah Scobie, warned that the situation was likely to deteriorate as the UK heads into winter.
Scobie commented: “NHS hospitals are desperately struggling to get patients in and patients out fast enough, and the situation continues to deteriorate as the temperature drops and we head into the most challenging winter months.
“Ambulance handover delays have again hit record levels. In the last week of November, 24,000 patients waited over 30 minutes in ambulances outside of hospitals causing enormous stress for patients and their families.”
The statistics also showed that the delays were leading to an average loss of 3,400 hours of ambulance staff time per day, time which could be redirected to patient care.
The striking element, as Scobie points out, is that all this is happening at a time when fewer patients are coming into hospitals by ambulance, opting instead to venture to A&E themselves.
She explained: “These record waits are despite slightly fewer patients arriving by ambulance than in previous winters. Patients in desperate need are having to brace themselves for very long waits in ambulance bays and corridors, and now it would appear more and more are choosing alternative ways to reach hospital.
“Ambulances are one of the most visible and vital cogs of the emergency care machine, and it is becoming more painfully visible that they are under severe strain.”
In the Autumn Statement, the UK government pledged to channel additional funding into the NHS and social care to crackdown on bed-blocking and speed-up patient discharge. However, Scobie believes that the positive impact of this will take time to be felt, certainly with impending strikes by nurses and ambulance staff.
“The government has confirmed additional funding to tackle the delayed discharges behind some of these problems, but it is far too late in the day to have a meaningful impact this winter,” she said.
“On top of confirmed ambulance and nurse strikes, unfortunately winter will keep getting harder for patients and NHS staff.”
Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash
