NHS England data reveals the ambulance handover delays at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals for the week ending Sunday, December 10.
In that week there were a total of 942 total handovers. Of these 265 took longer than one hour and 475 were longer than 30 minutes.
A spokesperson for the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that manages the hospitals said it was working with the ambulance service to speed up the handover of patients to hospital staff and the process is under review.
“Operational pressures are being felt across the NHS and our hospitals are no exception with high levels of attendance and ambulance arrivals, which is reflective of the national position,” they told The Press.
“We work in partnership with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and we continue to work together to understand how we can safely speed up the handover of patients. We also constantly review our working practices and refine and establish new processes, where appropriate, to manage the flow of patients through our hospitals.”
During the busy festive period, the spokesperson urged people to use alternatives such as NHS 111 if they are unsure of whether or not they need hospital treatment.
“Our emergency departments continue to be under sustained pressure and are very busy,” they said.
“As we head into the bank holiday period, we urge people to help us by using alternatives such as NHS 111 if they are unsure whether to go to the emergency department.
“This will ensure that when people need help, they are guided to best possible care and treatment for their needs. NHS 111 is available by calling 111, free on landlines and mobiles, or by going online to 111.nhs.uk.”
Ambulance services across England improved in the first week of December this year compared to the same period last year.
But experts said while there is hope this winter will not be a repeat of the last, it is still unlikely ambulance handovers will get below the 15-minute target.
Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at health think tank The King’s Fund, said: “The combination of tight budgets, rising Covid and flu cases, and industrial action, make it unlikely that ambulance handovers will get below the 15-minute target this winter.
“The Government needs more long-term, big-picture thinking if it’s to truly solve the issue of ambulance handover delays.”
An NHS England spokesperson said: “This year, we set out our plans for winter earlier than ever before.
“As part of our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, we are rolling out a host of measures to both improve hospital flow, reduce ambulance handover delays further, and increase the number of ambulance hours on the road, including 5,000 extra core beds to boost capacity and reduce waiting times for patients.”
