Paramedics miss tens of thousands of urgent 999 calls every month as they wait outside crowded emergency departments, figures reveal

Paramedics are unable to respond to 100,000 urgent 999 calls every month as they wait outside hospitals to transfer patients, figures suggest.

Health organizations warn the delays are putting thousands of lives at risk, with heart attack and stroke victims among those forced to wait too long for the crew’s arrival.

National guidelines say patients arriving at A&E by ambulance should be transferred to the care of hospital staff within 15 minutes.

But data from NHS England shows that more than four in ten (42.2 percent) of such arrivals waited at least 30 minutes last week – the highest figure so far this winter.

According to an analysis of NHS data by the Guardian and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), 1,313,218 jobs were lost in the past year as a direct result of ambulance handover delays.

Doctors said the figures – equivalent to 3,500 a day – are ‘staggering’ and called on ministers to take immediate action to tackle the problem.

Anna Parry, chief executive of AACE, which represents the bosses of England’s ten regional NHS ambulance services, warned: ‘Lost job cycles are having a profound impact on the resources available to local ambulance services.’

The “most damaging impact” will affect 999 patients with life-threatening conditions “who need us most,” she added. The crisis is caused by rising demand for emergency care, staff shortages and a lack of social care beds.

There were 1,313,218 lost job cycles in the past year as a direct result of ambulance transfer delays (file photo)

This means hospitals cannot discharge patients who are medically fit to leave, making it difficult to find space for new arrivals waiting outside in ambulances.

Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This inevitably has a knock-on effect with ambulance staff caring for patients in hospital unable to get to the next call.

‘This desperate situation becomes all the more urgent as the NHS grapples with the enormous challenges it faces this winter.’

Every minute that passes when someone has had a heart attack or stroke risks further damage and even death, she added.

She said: ‘No patient and their family should have to endure dramatic delays, and it is a tragedy to see this happening on such a large scale.’

There are reports of ambulances queuing deep outside the hospital, some crews waiting eight hours to drop off a single patient, and pensioners staying on the floor at home all night waiting for an ambulance after falling.

NHS England said transfer delays had improved before the winter, but accepted that ‘clearly much more needs to be done’ to reduce ‘unacceptably long patient waiting times’ in some parts of the country. It “prioritizes the sickest patients,” a spokesperson added. .