A row of ambulances outside the A&E department of the Royal London hospital
(Picture: PA Wire)Ambulance response times in London improved last month, according to NHS data, though trusts in the capital continued to experience delays when discharging patients from hospital.
Figures published by NHS England showed that response times for 999 calls across all four categories fell in January, possibly a sign that the worst of the winter pressure on emergency services may be over.
Response times for Category Two calls, which include chest pain and strokes, fell to an average of 29 minutes and 30 seconds – down from one hour and 23 minutes the month before. It remains below the target of 18 minutes.
And response times for the most serious Category One calls took an average of seven minutes and 44 seconds – down from around 10 and a half minutes in December.
However, bed occupancy across many London hospitals remains high as hospitals struggle to discharge medically fit patients into the community. A lack of capacity in the social care system means that many hospital beds are occupied by patients in need of social care who have nowhere else to go.
The figures show that on average just over half (54 per cent) of patients ready for discharge were discharged, leading to an average of 1,492 patients spending more time in hospital than needed each day.
Patients across the country faced record waits for treatment in A&E and for ambulances in December amid staff shortages and a particularly severe flu and Strep A season.
But the number of Londoners waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E fell by 13 per cent in January compared to the previous month. The number of patients waiting more than 4 hours also fell by 12.4 per cent during the time period.
The time that a patient waits for admission to A&E from the decision to be admitted is known as a “trolley wait”.
Waits of more than five hours to be admitted to A&E can significantly increase the risks of a patient dying or becoming seriously unwell, according to research published by the Emergency Medicine Journal.
The NHS’ operational standard states that at least 95 per cent of patients attending A&E should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but this has not been met nationally since 2015.
The figures come amid ongoing strikes by nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists in a bitter pay dispute with the Government.
Junior doctors are currently being balloted for strike action by the British Medical Association (BMA), with the vote to close at midday on Monday. The BMA have said that a 72-hour walkout will take place next month if members vote to strike and that A&E departments will not be staffed as part of derogations, raising the prospect of severe disruption across the NHS if unions coordinate industrial action.
NHS England said more than 10,000 elective procedures and appointments were rescheduled as a result of coordinated industrial action in the week beginning February 6.
Helen Pettersen, Interim Regional Director for the NHS in London said: “Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the health service in London, including industrial action, our amazing NHS staff are continuing to work flat-out to deliver the best care for patients, with ambulance response times improving last month as the NHS continues to progress its winter plan.
“It’s inspiring to see what our staff can achieve despite the pressures, constantly finding new ways to improve the patient experience as we see more patients as day cases so they can return home to recover the same day as their surgery.
“We know it is frustrating for those who are still facing long waits for planned care and it is important to make sure people are managing their health as best as possible during these times by keeping in contact with their GP and using NHS 111 online for any health concerns or advice and of course, calling 999 in any life-threatening emergency.”
