The family of an elderly woman forced to wait more than 10 hours in an ambulance outside a hospital have called for greater “compassion” from NHS bosses.
Patricia Stain, aged 84, was rushed to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham after suffering a fall at her home in Chelmsley Wood last Monday, 27 October.
But on arrival at the hospital at 10.50pm, Ms Stain, who worked for more than 35 years as a hospital cleaner, had to wait 10 hours and 37 minutes with paramedics before finally being handed over for care at 9.27am.
University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHB), which runs Heartlands, is among the worst trusts in the country in terms of waiting times for patient handovers, with the average time taken at A&E across its hospitals standing at 1 hour 50 minutes in October, compared to the standard time of up to 45 minutes, according to the latest NHS figures.
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Earlier this year, the trust was required to undertake enforcement measures by NHS England for breaching its licence conditions, including in relation to delays in ambulance handovers.
Ray Humphreys, Ms Stain’s son-in-law, told The Independent: “We just couldn’t believe it when we got told [how long the wait was]. Patricia was in pain when she left her house, so you wonder how she managed for so long in an ambulance outside the hospital before going into the hospital for care.
“Younger people can cope with sitting in an ambulance for so long, but an older person who has just suffered a painful fall at home, it’s not good. There should be more compassion for the older generation.”
Scans at the hospital showed that Ms Stain had suffered a fracture to her hip, said her family, who added that she was due to be discharged this week.
Mr Humphreys said: “I have sympathy with the staff at the hospital as I saw them running around, having to do so much – but they need help with more investment and resources, especially as we enter the winter season.”
A spokesperson for NHS England called Ms Stain’s wait “absolutely unacceptable”, and said that the organisation was committed to reducing ambulance handover delays across the country.
They added: “All local health systems should be working jointly with ambulance, hospital and community services to ensure no one in an ambulance is left waiting outside a hospital for more than 45 minutes.”
In papers submitted for a meeting of its board of directors in September, UHB, which also runs Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital, said it expected to deliver an average handover time of 42 minutes by March next year. In a statement provided to The Independent, a spokesperson said the hospital was facing seasonal pressures caused by an increase in ambulance arrivals and a surge in flu cases.
They said: “We sincerely apologise for any delays our patients are experiencing, as we continue to face significant seasonal pressures in urgent and emergency care, including an 8 per cent increase in ambulance arrivals and a substantial early surge in flu cases.
“Our teams are working tirelessly with partners across the region to manage these challenges and ensure our patients receive the safe, compassionate, and timely care they deserve.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was taking around half of patients to hospital to help reduce the pressure on wards, adding that ambulance arrivals make up only a quarter of patients at A&E departments.
A spokesperson said: “When ambulances are delayed handing their patient over at hospital, they are unable to respond to the next call, which impacts on the care of patients in the community. There is a direct correlation between hospital handover delays and our ability to get to patients in the community quickly.
“We rely on each part of the health and social care system to work together to allow our ambulances to get to patients quickly. We continue to work hard with our partners to find new ways to reduce the delays, so that we can save more lives.”
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