NHS boss hails 'progress' on ambulance A&E delays

Progress has been made by hospitals tackling the worst ambulance handover delays in Worcestershire, according to the NHS.

Maximum wait times were introduced in February after West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) crews across the region lost more than 50,000 hours to handover delays in January - more than any other ambulance trust in England.

The aim is that no ambulance should wait longer than 45 minutes to transfer patients into Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester, Redditch's Alexandra Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital and Treatment Centre.

Chief operating officer Chris Douglas said February saw a "stepped improvement" despite increased demand on the service.

"We introduced a number of red lines as part of the 45-minute handover programme we've launched.

"That's seen an improvement of 14% in terms of patients being handed over within 45 minutes", he added.

Despite the improvement, Douglas said the trust was still seeing some days with long delays and challenges with patient flow.

This was both within its hospitals and when working with partners for patients that need to leave hospital with support.

"I think the approach we've taken has really helped to galvanise the support internally and externally around making those improvements for patients, but as I say, its not without its challenges," Douglas added.

Vivek Khashu, director of strategy and engagement at WMAS, previously said the introduction of maximum wait times had successfully reduced handover delays in other parts of the country.

WMAS wanted to eventually achieve the standard handover target time of 15 minutes, he said.

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

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