Hospital bosses apologise after ambulance delays

Hospital and ambulance service bosses have apologised to patients over delays to being accepted into accident and emergency departments.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) lost more than 25,000 hours in December to patient handover delays – the second highest month on record for crews being held up at hospitals.

The figure includes a total of 4,600 hours patients were kept waiting in Derbyshire beyond the target time of 15 minutes - the national standard set by NHS England - to be accepted by emergency departments.

The leaders of the Royal Derby Hospital and EMAS have apologised.

Pressure has been mounting on both hospitals and ambulance services since the autumn.

Increasing numbers of flu, Covid, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - the so-called "quad-demic" of winter viruses - has added to the pressures.

On Tuesday, Stephen Posey, the chief executive of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust (UHDB), told a meeting of the board: "I'd like to apologise to all our patients who have experienced waiting far too long to access our services...your experience is not what we aspire to deliver."

He added: "Our ambition was to have no patient waiting more than 65 weeks for planned care by the end of December, but disappointingly, our progress has been impacted."

Richard Henderson, the chief executive of EMAS, has described the delays by hospitals receiving patients as unacceptable and was concerned it was putting patient safety at increased risk.

The delays are one of the reasons that EMAS declared its first critical incident, which has now been stood down, since the trust's formation in 1999.

Behind the figures are real lives.

Maureen Broad, 83, from Spondon, had dangerously low iron levels last Wednesday, 8 January, and was taken by ambulance with her daughter to the Royal Derby.

When she got there, they endured about an hour wait to be accepted by the hospital, far more than the target 15-minute timeframe.

Ms Broad then waited over 18 hours for a bed on a ward, her daughter Lisa Howard told the BBC.

"I feel for the ambulance [staff]. It's not their fault", added Mrs Howard.

"They're doing a job. They get frustrated the same as patients and family members do."

Both EMAS and UHDB have apologised, with the hospital adding it was their busiest day of the year so far.

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.