NHS enters winter with ambulance delays almost double those in 2023

The time spent by ambulances stuck outside A&Es waiting to hand over patients has nearly doubled since last year, the first NHS “winter situation report” has revealed.

The first set of data from NHS England for the 2024-25 winter also reveals a huge increase in cases of flu and norovirus, and the highest-ever level of bed occupancy at this time.

The “sit rep” data shows 15.7 per cent of all patient handovers took more than an hour last week. This equates to more than 2,000 people a day being stuck in an ambulance for more than an hour while waiting for transfer to A&E.

NHSE described the pressure on ambulance services as “incredibly high”, with hours lost to ambulance delays up 87 per cent compared with last year. It said more than 35,000 hours overall had been lost to handover delays, with around 8 per cent more patients arriving by ambulance.

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Source: HSJ, 5 December 2024