The NHS in the Bristol region faced a “horrific winter” with almost three-hour ambulance waits in December for strokes and chest pains. Local health bosses thanked staff for their “amazing work” during a month which saw high levels of infection and industrial action.
In December, almost half of people in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire phoning 111 abandoned their calls. Meanwhile, calls to 999 were answered on average after 126 seconds; and 2,003 patients waited in the emergency department for over 12 hours.
Updates on winter pressures were given to the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) on Thursday, February 2. As well as striking staff, there were high levels of infectious diseases like influenza, Covid-19 and norovirus.
