Pictures show long queue of ambulances outside Cornwall hospital

Pictures have emerged showing a long queue of ambulances outside the Royal Cornwall Hospital as the South West continues to face some of the worst handover delays in the country.

NHS Trusts operating in Plymouth, Bristol and Gloucestershire have also been badly hit with delays of half an hour or more.

Figures released yesterday (28 January) show the University Hospitals Bristol & Weston and University Hospitals Plymouth trusts reported the highest proportion of ambulance handovers that were delayed by at least 30 minutes last week (54%).

Bristol & Weston and Plymouth also topped the list for the proportion of arrivals that were delayed by more than an hour (37%), followed by University Hospitals of Leicester (33%), Gloucestershire (31%) and North Bristol (29%).

While this week the Cornwall Royal Hospital is not in the top five list for the worst delays, pictures have been released showing around 20 ambulances waiting outside its emergency department.

A table was even put outside to provide waiting drivers with refreshments.

It comes after the hospital was recorded as having the worst ambulance waiting times in England - partly caused by a lack of free beds to treat people coming to hospital.

A spokesperson from Cornwall NHS said: “Our hospitals have been exceptionally busy during the past few days as we continue to manage sustained pressures across our health and care system.

“There are over 100 people with COVID-19 currently being treated in Cornwall’s hospitals. This figure has increased daily during the past few weeks and are now treating more inpatients with COVID-19 than we have since the height of the first wave in January and February last year.

"Although for many of our patients their COVID-19 infection is incidental to other conditions, the rise in numbers adds significant additional pressure to our NHS and reduces the numbers of beds we can make available for new admissions. 

“We’re also still caring for around 160 people across our main and community hospitals who are medically fit and ready to leave but are waiting for onward care or support.  An issue being compounded by the large number of care homes are unable to admit new patients due to recent covid cases."

Dr Emma Redfern, interim medical director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said emergency departments are currently dealing with "sustained pressure".

“We always aim to see and treat patients as quickly as possible, and all patients arriving at our emergency departments are triaged and assessed with the most clinically urgent being prioritised", she said.

Dr Redfern said the delays are impacted by staffing challenges, the number of Covid patients needing admissions and infection control guidance.

"We are working together with local health and care partners to ensure that people who need hospital care can be admitted and then discharged from hospital safely as soon as they are medically well enough to leave", she said.

A spokesperson from the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said their Emergency Department is also experiencing "exceptional" challenges.

They continued: "We recognise that patients are waiting in ambulances when they need to be seen more quickly in the Emergency Department.

"We are working really hard to reduce waits and we have taken a number of steps. For example, we have plans to develop a new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre.

"We continue to ensure patients are prioritised in order of clinical need and are seen in the shortest timeframe possible."

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has also apologised for the delays people are facing.

A spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that some patients are having to wait longer for an ambulance as a result of health and social care being under severe pressure.

"The most significant impact is the length of time it’s taking us to hand over patients into busy hospitals. It’s an absolute priority for us and for our NHS partners to reduce these delays, so crews can get back out on the road for other patients.  

“Our people are working incredibly hard day and night to enable us to be there for our patients, while prioritising those who are most seriously injured and ill.

“We have made a number of changes to working practices across the Trust, including the redeployment of staff, to free up every available resource so that we can prioritise delivering timely, appropriate and safe patient care.”