Long waits for ambulances having a ‘dangerous impact’ on patients

Analysis by the BBC has found a 77 per cent increase in the most serious safety incidents logged by paramedics in England over the last year, compared to before the pandemic.

 

Doctors also say that in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the 999 system is under “tremendous pressure”.

 

Research has shown there were 551 serious safety reports filed by ambulance staff in England between March 2021 and February 2022, an increase from 312 in the same period before the pandemic.  Within that data, there were 201 unexpected or unintended deaths, which is up from 78 in 2019/20.

 

The data depends on staff reporting problems and not all serious incidents will be linked to long ambulance delays.  The largest proportion relate to the ‘access, admission or transfer’ of patients.

 

Dr Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and an A&E consultant, said the problem with ambulance waits was “more serious than we’ve ever seen it”.

 

She added “We’ve got big queues – we can’t get flow out of our departments.  The underlying reason is that emergency departments are absolutely packed.”

 

Martin Flaherty, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said handover delays cut the number of hours crews could operate by “up to one-third” in some areas in March.

 

He went on to say “The potential harm … could be impacting thousands of patients every month, with obvious knock-on effects on the morale and wellbeing of staff.

 

“Every possible effort is being made to prioritise those patients whose conditions are most serious.

 

“Sadly, given the loss of capacity associated with handover delays, this is simply not always possible to achieve.”

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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