Sharp rise in A&Es turning away ambulances

Overcrowded hospitals in England were forced to close their doors nearly 500 times to ambulances this winter.

The number of diverts was nearly double the level in the previous three winters and has prompted warnings about the pressures facing the health service. The figures, compiled by the Nuffield Trust think tank from official NHS data, showed there were 478 diverts in December, January and February. That compared to 265 the winter before, 258 in 2014-15 and 225 in 2013-14. Hospitals said closures were a last resort but had to be done to maintain safety in A&E.

Richard Webber, from the Royal College of Paramedics, said that while he was “sympathetic” to the problems hospitals were facing, the diverts were a significant cause of delays in reaching “seriously ill and injured patients” and added that “there is a double whammy in that not only do crews have to drive further away once a divert is implemented – [but] once that has happened, an ambulance crew will then also need to travel further to get back to their own area to respond to the next call.”

Ambulance crews have failed to hit any of their response time targets since May 2015, with latest figures showing that a third of the most critically ill patients wait longer than eight minutes for a 999 response. It is suggested that too many ambulances are being dispatched to simply try to hit targets and it is now time to review the system to see if there is a more efficient way of running the service to relieve the pressure.

Julie Crossley a medical negligence lawyer at Ashtons Legal comments: “It is clear that the NHS Trusts and Ambulance services are under severe pressure and every sympathy goes out to those who have to work under this enormous strain. However, it is in these circumstances where delays lead to patients’ conditions deteriorating or the individual passing away that families or patients turn to litigation and compensation as a result. It is vital that a solution is found.”