AN AVERAGE of more than 20 patients a day had to wait at least an hour to be transferred from an ambulance to emergency department staff at Royal Bournemouth and Poole hospitals.
The figures from University Hospitals Dorset show there were 655 patients waiting more than 60 minutes in the latest available figures, which cover February.
A report to a recent UHD board meeting said the ambulance delays continue to “challenge the entire system”.
“This is due to crowding in the emergency departments and a national directive that ambulance crews are not permitted to cohort ambulance patients in queues," the report said.
“Delays are a national focus, with SWAST (South Western Ambulance Service Trust) reported by the HSJ (Health Service Journal) as a challenged trust.
“UHD and SWAST continue to work closely on this, with broader system plans and assurance being submitted to NHSE via CCG leads.”
As reported, UHD has recently introduced a “radical” change for people who take themselves to hospital in an emergency.
Patients who self-admit at RBH in emergency circumstances will now check in at the urgent treatment centre (UTC).
It is hoped this change will help relive pressures on the ambulance service and improve patient experiences.
Dr Alyson O’Donnell, chief medical officer at UHD, said: “Significant pressures on emergency departments across the county have continued to affect our hospitals.
“We continue to see an increase in walk in attendances and ambulance drop offs. It can take longer to move patients from our emergency departments to a busy hospital ward which can delay ambulance handovers.
“While Covid-19 restrictions have eased, restrictions in our hospitals have continued to keep our patients, staff and visitors safe.”
Dr O’Donnell said the self-admission change was one of a range of initiatives being piloted.
She added: “Our staff continue to work incredibly hard under difficult circumstances and will continue to prioritise our most poorly patients first.
“We encourage patients to access NHS services wisely and find alternative and appropriate support elsewhere, including GPs, urgent treatment centres (UTCs), pharmacies and NHS 111.”
The Daily Echo approached SWAST for comment, but enquiries were referred to UHD.
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