Nearly one in four ambulance handovers delayed by at least 30 minutes

Nearly one in four patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E departments – the highest level since the start of winter, new figures show.

Some 20,274 delays of half an hour or longer were recorded across all hospital trusts in the seven days to March 13, according to NHS England.

This was 24% of the 84,029 arrivals by ambulance.

The proportion of handovers delayed by at least 30 minutes has now risen four weeks in row, having stood at 20% in mid-February.

Figures for ambulance delays are published by NHS England and the current data runs from the start of December 2021.

The previous high was 23% in the week to January 9.

A handover delay does not always mean a patient has waited in the ambulance. They may have been moved into an A&E department, but staff were not available to complete the handover.

Nearly 9,000 arrivals last week – 10% of the total – waited more than an hour to be handed to A&E teams, up slightly from 9% in the previous week.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the latest figures showed the NHS was “still facing significant pressures” and there was “no sign” of them easing as spring arrived.

“It is worrying that handover delays have increased for the fourth consecutive week, with nearly a quarter having to wait 30 minutes or more – reflecting wider pressures across health and care,” he added.

“While it is positive that the levels of serious illness are lower than in previous waves – which demonstrates just how successful the vaccination programme has been – the rising number of patients with Covid-19, combined with increased staff absences, will have knock-on effects for patient care.”

Separate figures published on Thursday showed staff absences at NHS hospitals in England due to Covid-19 have jumped to their highest level for a month, with numbers climbing in all regions.

Patient levels in hospital are also rising, though they remain well below the peak reached at the start of the year during the Omicron wave.