Eight in 10 NHS ambulances have to wait at least 30 minutes outside busy emergency departments in parts of England, shocking data shows today.
Almost 70,000 patients were taken to hospitals by 999 crew members last week.
But more than 28,000 – or 40 per cent – experienced delays of at least 30 minutes before being reported to emergency services.
Numbers described as “monstrous” are worse than ever in previous winter crises.
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But an analysis by MailOnline shows that up to 85 per cent of ambulances at the worst-hit hospitals in the South West experienced massive waits.
NHS Statistics Pressure on the emergency services will only be suspended until the week ending December 18.
The aftermath of yesterday’s strikes – the biggest since the 1980s – will only be felt next week.
Health chiefs last night warned of a calm before the storm after 999 calls dropped in many areas amid the chaos, prompting warnings of an immediate recovery in calls.
Insiders said emergency rooms and departments were facing a “very challenging” Christmas.
Almost 70,000 patients were taken to hospitals by 999 crew members last week. But more than 28,000 – or 40 per cent – experienced delays of at least 30 minutes before being reported to emergency services
The ambulance should be within 15 minutes.
Delays can occur when emergency units are overrun by many ambulances at once and there is a shortage of beds.
Not all delays result in patients being stuck in the back of ambulances, some being left in hospital corridors.
This causes chaos as paramedics must stay with patients and ambulances unable to attend 911 calls pile up.
This has a major knock-on effect on response times, with heart attack victims waiting hours for 999 crews in parts of the country.
The image shows the average response times for category 1, 2, 3 and 4 calls to emergency services across England (left) and on the right the average response time for each call (red) compared to the target response time (blue) for all services
Chart of the average time it takes emergency services across England to answer 999 calls
Ambulances parked outside West Midlands Ambulance Service headquarters in Coventry yesterday during strikes by paramedics, ambulance technicians and on-call staff across England and Wales. The NHS is banking on recovery today after patients delayed treatment
MailOnline’s analysis included data from today’s Weekly Situation Report, a continuous stream of data tracking the state of healthcare during its busiest time.
Hospitals that recorded fewer than 100 ambulance arrivals during the week were excluded.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust saw 84.9 per cent of all 999 arrivals at least 30 minutes late.
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A somber NHS boss today urged people not to drink too much this Christmas amid fears the NHS could be overwhelmed by 48-hour strikes by nurses and paramedics this week.
Torbay and South Devon (82.6 per cent) and University Hospitals Plymouth (79.3 per cent) rounded out the top three.
By contrast, just 5.9 per cent of ambulances took that long outside Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals.
Campaigners told MailOnline the “unacceptable” numbers showed emergency services were a “postcode lottery”.
Dennis Reed, director of seniors’ organization Silver Voices, said: “Obviously it’s a postcode lottery, but it’s bad everywhere.
“As far as I can see, none of the government’s targets are being met and we have been saying this for months – the wait is unacceptable.
“Our Cornwall members raised this issue. There is only one big hospital nearby and when 30 ambulances are waiting outside you are in big trouble.
“Rural areas take longer to get patients anyway, so they need shorter waits outside hospitals – not worse.”
The NHS is preparing for an increase in demand for emergency care following strikes by nurses and paramedics.
Thousands of paramedics across England and Wales yesterday went on strike by nurses on Tuesday as the NHS braced for added pressure from union action.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering speeding up an NHS pay rise next year to settle the dispute, but has so far ruled out any move on current wages.
Mr Barclay said: “My door is always open to talking to the unions about concerns about working conditions,” but “we have an independent pay regulator – which the unions have campaigned for – and we will continue to delay that process to ensure . “that decisions are made to balance the needs of the workforce and the wider economy.”
A 4×4 outside the Royal Sussex County Hospital yesterday as members of the public were forced to take their loved ones to A&E themselves
Ambulance services hit more than half of the UK yesterday
Saffron Cordery, interim director of NHS providers, which represents England’s hospital and ambulance services, said the coming days would be a “challenging time” because of the pent-up demand for services following the strikes.
“I think emergency departments in particular will feel the strain in the areas where there have been strikes which have applied to emergency services in all parts of the country except the East of England,” she told Sky News.
“So real pressure, pent-up demand and also the added pressure to postpone all these surgeries and appointments that had to be postponed.”
While the highest level of alert for emergency services has been withdrawn in some places, trusts have warned the public that healthcare remains under immense pressure.
The East of England Ambulance Service and North West Ambulance Service both withdrew their critical incident status, but added that the NHS “remains under extreme pressure” and the 999 and 111 services are “still in question”.
Ms Cordery said the extra demand would hit an NHS where there are already “fundamental staff shortages” and frontline workers are “significantly overworked”.
“What we need to see now is for the government to come to the table and have a serious discussion and negotiation about pay, because this dispute is about pay and it’s also about working conditions and patient protection,” he said.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents most healthcare organisations, said on Wednesday the service was performing “as well as expected”.
But he said the NHS could not cope with a winter of strikes and industrial action.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of the NHS, said: “Given the impact of union action over the past week, it is clear that the NHS is under immense pressure in the run-up to Christmas as flu cases rise in hospitals and in intensive care. care units Week after week, in addition to a significant increase in employee absenteeism and near-record demand for services such as 111.
“Despite this, NHS staff continue to deliver a significant volume of patients – dealing with almost a record number of 111 calls and continuing to make progress in cleaning up Covid-19 debris.
“With further industrial action planned for next week, disruption will occur, but we urge the public to continue to use the services judiciously by continuing to call 999 for life-threatening emergencies, use 111 online for other health issues, and taking sensible steps. “to protect yourself and others.
The NHS has fully prepared for winter with more beds, extra on-call services and the expansion of autumn emergency services, control centers and ventilators, but with flu hospitals and Covid cases on the rise, the best thing you can do to take care of yourself is to protect yourself from to have you vaccinated if you qualify.’
In other related news…
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Up to 30,000 appointments and operations canceled due to NHS care strikes… so how badly has YOUR hospital been affected?
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
