Peterborough hospital and ambulance trusts working to tackle delays - as more than half of ambulance handovers take more than half an hour

The trusts running hospital and ambulance services in Peterborough have pledged to do more to cut handover waiting times – after it was revealed that more than half of handovers were taking at least 30 minutes.

NHS England figures show that of the 731 arrivals at hospitals run by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (Peterborough City, Hinchingbrooke and Stamford & Rutland) during the week beginning December 4, 62 per cent of the handovers to A&E took more than half an hour.

The target for handovers is 15 minutes.

The figures are the eighth highest for any trust in the country, with the average across England being 34 per cent.

Last year, the North West Anglia Trust had 48 per cent of handovers taking at least 30 minutes.

Dr Callum Gardner, Chief Medical Officer at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust said: “We entirely recognise the significant impact that waiting in ambulances for long periods has on our patients and our ambulance service colleagues and we would like to sincerely apologise for this.

“We are fully committed to improving our handover times and are working closely with all of our local partners to take swift action together to improve the quality of

care and experience of our patients across our hospitals, despite the increased pressures that the winter months can bring.”

The trust did not respond to questions about why the delays were happening in the hospitals.

An East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesperson said: “We are working closely with our NHS colleagues to reduce delays in hospital handovers as we know the impact this has on our ability to respond to patients.

“Ahead of winter we increased the number of frontline clinicians we have on the road and within our control centres and we are looking to increase those numbers further over the next few months.

“The public can play their part in supporting the NHS this winter by using 999 services wisely and seeking alternatives when it’s not a life-threatening emergency.”