Ambulances told to only wait 45 minutes before leaving patients on trolleys
An instruction from the NHS to the London Ambulance Service has been handed down that says they should only wait 45 minutes before leaving a patient on a trolley and heading back out.
NHS London confirmed the policy after a leaked email was published reporting it.
The policy comes as waiting times at hospitals have reached peak levels and paramedics are left outside hospitals waiting for hours to hand over patients.
EXCL: Yet another sign of the pressure in the NHS, as leaked email says from today London Ambulance Service crews will only wait 45 mins at hospitals before handing over patients.
Will mean more waiting on trolleys in corridors with hospital staff stretched even more thinly. pic.twitter.com/KexpUP71XP
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) January 3, 2023
This is delaying paramedics trying to become available again for further emergencies.
An email was sent to hospitals across London making it clear that ambulances would limit the time they were willing to wait.
The email states: “From January 3 we are asking that any patients waiting for 45 minutes for handover… are handed over immediately to ED [emergency department] staff allowing the ambulance clinicians to leave and respond to the next patient waiting in the community.”
Widespread reports of the strain on London hospitals show that this new policy will leave more patients waiting on trolleys in corridors until they are seen.
A spokeswoman for the NHS in London said: “The NHS is experiencing record demand for urgent and emergency care.
“We are working across London to speed up ambulance handovers at hospitals – where it is clinically safe to do so – so ambulance crews can get to more people who are unwell in the community.
“This is one of many ways we are strengthening the NHS response this winter, along with more beds, extra 111 and 999 call handlers, more ambulance clinicians and expanding the use of 24/7 control centres across the capital for urgent and emergency care.”
(Picture: Eddie/Flickr)
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