More than a thousand patients left waiting over an hour in ambulances outside York trust's A&Es
Councillors have hit out at new figures published by the NHS today (6th Jan), which reveal that 1081 patients had to wait for over an hour in ambulances before being admitted to York and Scarborough hospitals in December.
In total 45% (1,558) of all ambulance crews were delayed by more than half an hour dropping off patients at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust A&E departments. 2,632 hours were lost to ambulance handover delays in total. Across England, more patients waited in an ambulance for more than an hour last month than at any stage since records began.
NHS targets state trusts should complete 95 per cent of all ambulance handovers in 30 minutes, with all conducted in less than one hour.
Reacting to the news, Councillor Carol Runciman, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Health and Adult Social care, commented:
“Our health and care staff are continuing to work tirelessly, yet despite their incredible dedication, this Government’s neglect and mismanagement of our NHS is leaving the system to crumble.
“This crisis is not simply down to Covid or winter pressures, but is rather caused by years of underfunding of the NHS, failure to tackle the health service’s understaffing and fixing a social care system that is struggling to keep up with demand.
“Listening to Rishi Sunak speak this week, you wouldn’t think that the country is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis in the NHS. Despite years of promises to deliver solutions and investment, this Government still doesn’t have a proper plan to deal with the NHS and social care crisis. The Prime Minister is asleep at the wheel while patients are stuck in ambulances and the health service is stretched to breaking point.
“Ministers should have been working to tackle this crisis for months, instead they spent most of 2022 indulging in political circus within the Conservative Party. We cannot wait for more empty announcements and platitudes; the NHS needs investment and a recovery strategy now!”