NI patient spent over 24 hours in ambulance waiting outside hospital

A patient spent more than 24 hours in an ambulance waiting outside a Northern Ireland hospital for a "handover" with medics, it has emerged.

The length of time it took for "ambulance handovers" at each of Northern Ireland's 13 acute hospital sites during December and January was released at Stormont this week by the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.

The hospital with the longest wait on average was the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, where it took on average three hours for ambulance turnovers during the month of December.

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The longest individual wait recorded between December 1 and January 13 was at the Antrim Hospital, where a patient spent 25 hours and 15 minutes waiting on a handover.

Another patient, at the Ulster Hospital, spent 23 hours and 36 minutes waiting.

The figures were released by the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, following a request made through Stormont's written Assembly questions mechanism by the DUP MLA Diane Dodds.

The Minister said the length of time spent waiting outside emergency departments has a knock-on impact on the ability of ambulance crews to respond to calls.

"Reducing ambulance handover delays outside emergency departments has been a key priority due to the impact this has on NIAS’s capacity to respond to calls in the community," he said.

"These risks were also articulated in the ‘Getting It Right First Time’ (GIRFT) Review of Emergency Medicine for Northern Ireland commissioned by the Department. Ambulance handover delays are monitored on a daily basis, including average delays and longest delays at each hospital. This information is circulated widely within the HSC system including to the Trust Chief Executives."

Mr Nesbitt, in his response to Diane Dodds, continued: "NIAS has implemented a range of initiatives to improve ambulance response times. The introduction of an Integrated Clinical Hub has placed senior clinicians within NIAS’s control centre who are able to provide clinical triage to improve safety and refer patients to alternative pathways through the use of ‘Hear & Treat’ and ‘See & Treat’ pathways, effectively reducing unnecessary hospital conveyances.

"Additionally, the introduction of mental health practitioners within the control room has resulted in a reduction in ED attendances for patients presenting with mental health crises. Collaboration with HSC Trusts, including the Hospital at Home initiative, have further supported community-based care by minimising hospital admissions and ensuring high-quality care delivery closer to patients' homes."

In a statement issued last month as hospitals struggled to cope with the pressure on services, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "The health and social care system continues to experience severe pressure on services. The system is working extremely hard to care for patients. Priority will always be given to cases that are immediately life-threatening. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to staff.

"The Department, on behalf of the health and social care system, apologises to all patients who are waiting longer than they should and thanks patients and families for their continuing co-operation.

"We would appeal to the public to please be patient with staff and to do all they can to support them. Every one of us can help the health service get through this winter, including by using services appropriately, getting your vaccines if eligible, cooperating with hospital discharge processes and doing all we can to stay well."

Average ambulance handover times per hospital site

Longest ambulance handover times per acute site

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