The most recent NHS England figures have shown that patients requiring ambulances for life-threatening calls are having to wait for longer than they should.
Average response times for ambulances
The target response time for urgent calls is seven minutes, but the latest figures show that the average response time is around eight and a half minutes.
- Category 1 calls are classed as urgent and refers to people who have had a cardiac arrest or are struggling to breathe. In August, the average response time for an ambulance that can take a patient to the hospital (rather than a paramedic in a car or on a bike) for urgent calls was 11 minutes and 10 seconds. This is close to being the worst on record.
- Category 2 calls cover heart attacks, seizures and road traffic accidents. The target response time for category 2 is eighteen minutes. However, the figures show that the most recent average response time was thirty-eight minutes.
NHS England said that staff had been contending with one of the busiest summers on record in A&E and that hospitals were dealing with more than 6,000 patients with Covid-19.
Patients awaiting routine operations
In addition to ambulance wait times, the data also shows that the number of patients awaiting routine operations has risen to a record high of 5.6 million in July.
Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons was reported as saying that the waiting times showed that new funding for planned surgery was “sorely needed”.
The NHS in England is reportedly due to receive an extra £5.2bn over the next six months and the money has been allocated to help the response to Covid-19, and tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic.
Comment
The latest figures clearly show how much the NHS is struggling. As they continue to fight the pandemic, try to tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic, and face the reality of more patients coming forward for treatment, it is little wonder that delays continue.
Whilst it is true that NHS staff and services are doing all that they can, the funding to help that process is desperately needed. Meanwhile, patients struggling in pain waiting for operations are forced to continue to wait, ambulance services are buckling under the pressure and patient safety is most definitely at risk.
How can Nelsons help?
Danielle Young is a Senior Associate in our Medical Negligence team.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.