By Emily Cleland
The Gloucestershire Echo
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, England — More than 750 ambulances were kept waiting outside the county’s two biggest hospitals in one month, new figures show.
A total of 764 emergency vehicles were delayed by more than 20 minutes in May, 228 more than the number held up during the same month last year.
Of this year’s figure, 83 had to wait more than an hour for their patients to be handed over to hospital staff.
Now the trust that runs Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals is in line for a fine of more than £80,000. Evelyn Barker, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said a diarrhoea and sickness bug, which was widespread in the community, had played a part.
She said: “Several factors have influenced ambulance hand-over times over the last few months, including the unusually long season for norovirus, which has sometimes resulted in wards being closed or new admissions restricted.” She added: “Despite this, we are pleased to note that there continues to be a downward trend in the number of plus-one-hour delays, which means that patients are being assessed more quickly.
“We continue to work with our colleagues in the ambulance service to reduce the number and duration of ambulance delays at both Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals.” In May last year, 536 ambulances were delayed by more than 20 minutes at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General, with 53 waiting more than one hour.
Spokesman for GWAS John Oliver said: “Responding to more patients with serious conditions inevitably results in more of those patients requiring further treatment in hospital.
“Ensuring those patients are transferred to hospital care quickly and smoothly is in everyone’s best interests, so we continue to work closely with all our hospital colleagues to achieve this - but clearly there are times when the demands on the entire health system means this takes longer.
“There is no single, simple solution to reducing the number of ambulances waiting at hospitals but it is something we constantly monitor and respond to - not just to meet targets but because that is what is in the best interests of all our patients.”
Penalties mean the hospitals trust is hit with a £95 fine for every ambulance delayed for more than 20 minutes and a further £95 if the vehicles have to wait for more than an hour.
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