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Southend Hospital ambulance handover unit aims to reduce delays

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust Southend Hospital's ambulance handover unitMid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
The trust said the ambulance handover unit will be temporary

A&E patients will be seen at a hospital's new ambulance handover unit in an attempt to tackle delays.

The Southend Hospital unit will accommodate 12 patients and they will be supervised by a dedicated clinician.

Latest NHS figures showed that more than a third of patients visiting A&E departments in mid and south Essex were not seen within the four-hour target.

East of England Ambulance Trust chief executive Tom Abell said the unit would free up more crews for emergencies.

"It will also help us to meet the challenges of the coming winter months," said Mr Abell.

"When people call 999 the public expect the ambulance service to attend. Units like this will help make sure that we can."

Ambulances pictured queuing outside Southend A&E in December 2020, amid Covid-19 pressures
Ambulances were seen queuing outside Southend A&E in December 2020, amid Covid-19 pressures

The £235,000 unit, designed to be temporary, was provided by the private firm EMS Healthcare, but paid for by the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals.

Alex Dunlop/BBC Tom Abell, East of England Ambulance Trust chief executiveAlex Dunlop/BBC
East of England Ambulance Trust chief executive Tom Abell believes the handover unit will help meet challenges this winter

It will start seeing patients, who would otherwise still be waiting in ambulances, during the week commencing 31 October.

The trust said Queen's Hospital in Romford already had an ambulance receiving centre, and that other hospitals in England were considering similar set-ups.

NHS England figures for September showed that 35.7% of patients at mid and south Essex A&E units were not seen within the four-hour target, compared with a 29% average for England.

However, the trust saw the second-highest number of A&E patients in England that month, with only University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust seeing more.

Southend Hospital's urgent and emergency services were rated as requires improvement in the latest Care Quality Commission report.

Southend Hospital
Southend University Hospital was rated "requires improvement" after its most recent Care Quality Commission review

The hospital trust's chief operating officer and acting managing director, Andrew Pike, said: "We are aware there are challenges in Southend, as the emergency department is quite small and means it quickly gets filled up when there are periods of high demand.

"When surges happen, we want to ensure that patients can get the care they need as quickly as possible."

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