Ambulance delays see thousands of hours lost

Ambulance delays have led to thousands of hours lost in Shropshire, new figures show

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) bosses have pledged to investigate after 2,499 hours were lost in June this year, a rise of almost 40% compared to June 2023.

WMAS said this has had an impact on crews getting to category one incidents, the most severe medical emergencies.

"There is a direct correlation between hospital handover delays and our ability to get to patients in the community quickly," a spokesperson said.

"If ambulances are delayed handling their patient, they are unable to respond to the next call, which will impact on the care of the patient in the community."

Six of the longest waiting times for category one calls in the West Midlands during June were in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, with the worst being 51 minutes 13 seconds.

WMAS has a target of getting to 90% of category one calls within 15 minutes, with an average target time of seven minutes for about 50% of those calls.

In June, crews reached 90% within 23 minutes 43 seconds.

Responses to category two calls were better, with crews responding to 90% within 62 minutes 28 seconds, a 20-minute improvement on 2023.

"A huge amount of work has taken place in Shropshire to find ways of reducing hospital handover delays," said the spokesperson.

"Delays are a whole system issue, including the all of health and social care, and not just the ambulance service and emergency departments."

WMAS would continue to work with partners to reduce delays, they added.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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