BBC figures reveal ambulances face long delays at A&E departments | Fieldfisher
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BBC figures reveal ambulances face long delays at A&E departments

Mark Bowman
09/12/2013
A freedom of Information Act request has revealed that a number of patients are having to wait for longer than the recommended waiting time before being transferred from an ambulance to the A&E department at hospital. Figures showed that in one case the delay was over six hours.
Under NHS guidelines, the time between arrival at hospital by ambulance and transfer to A&E should be no more than 15 minutes. The figures obtained by the BBC clearly reveal that such guidelines are not being adhered too.
 
Mark Bowman, Partner at FFW commented "This report makes worrying reading. Patients arriving at hospital by ambulance are clearly in need of urgent attention. The current system of fining hospitals if there is a delay of over 30 minutes is clearly not addressing this issue, and more needs to be done to ensure compliance, and that patients are treated promptly."