NHS patients dying behind an ambulance are stuck outside the A & E, the report says | NHS

Bomb reports show that up to 160,000 people are affected each year as people die behind ambulances and are stuck outside hospitals that cannot be dropped off at A & E.

After spending a lot of time behind the ambulance, the patient died shortly after being finally hospitalized, but other patients at home were rescued because rescuers were trapped in A & E and unable to answer 999 calls. Not broken. NHS Ambulance Service Boss England..

In addition, about 12,000 out of 160,000 suffer from “serious damage” such as permanent health problems. These include people with life-threatening health emergencies such as chest pain, sepsis, heart disease, epilepsy, and Covid-19.

Ambulance log jam outside the hospital NHS In recent years, A & E staff have been unable to discharge patients who are medically suitable for discharge due to lack of hospital beds as a result of Covid-19 and care.

As a result, A & E personnel need to limit the number of patients that can enter the unit at one time, which can lead to long ambulance lines outside. This problem has become much more serious in recent months as all NHS services see unprecedented demand for care.

Labor and the Liberal Democratic Party said the degree of “amazing” damage to patient health underscores the risks posed by the growing crisis facing the NHS Ambulance Service.

The Guardian’s report, produced by the Ambulance Association’s Chief Executive Officers Association (AACE), is based on previously secret NHS official figures. AACE represents the Chief Executive Officer of 10 regional ambulance services in the United Kingdom. All of these services had to declare warnings in the last few months after facing an unprecedented request for assistance.

“If a very ill patient arrives at the hospital and has to wait excessive time before being handed over to an emergency department clinician for evaluation and final care, some harm is complete. Predictable and almost inevitable.

“This can take the form of worsening medical condition or physical condition, or in the form of distress or anxiety, which can affect patient outcomes and certainly worsen the patient’s experience.”

With so many ambulances stuck in the hospital, it is unknown how many patients die each year. However, he adds: “I know that some patients have died sadly while waiting outside the ED. [emergency departments], Or immediately after final approval of the ED after waiting. Some people died while waiting for an ambulance response in the community.

“Whether death was an unavoidable result, this is not the level of care or experience we want from someone in the last moment. No form or level of harm is tolerated.”

AACE investigated all handover delays lasting more than an hour on 10 ambulance trusts on January 4, and the resulting damage. This data was used to estimate the number of patients with poor health or needing more invasive treatment, such as surgery, as a direct result of long waits for treatment by doctors and nurses.

“Estimating these results from January 4, 2021, which was not an atypical day, over all delivery delays that occur daily, potential harm cases affect 160,000 patients annually. There is a possibility.

“Of these, about 12,000 patients can suffer serious damage as a result of delayed takeover.”

Daisy Cooper, a health spokesman for the Liberal Democratic Party, said: These are absolutely catastrophic discoveries, with a huge number of harms and seriousness, including tragic patient deaths, as a direct result of the huge number of ambulance delivery delays we are seeing today. It is revealed that there is a serious harm. “

The ambulance is intended to deliver the patient to the A & E staff within 15 minutes and will not wait more than 30 minutes. However, in recent years, outside the hospital, there are as many as 15 ambulances that are too busy to be accepted.

Last month, West Midlands ambulance service was approved Publicly announce that delayed delivery is causing “catastrophic” harm to patients.. Despite best efforts, Nursing Director Mark Doherty said, “I know patients can be harmed,” and some patients “died before reaching them.” Said.

Pressure on ambulances forced the service to raise the risk assessment of harm to patients from level 20 to level 25. This is the best ever. “The definition of 25 is that the harm is almost certain and will be catastrophic. I think we’re there now,” Docherty added.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: The scale of harm and serious harm done to a patient is a scandal.

“The minister has been suffering from ambulances in ambulances, at risk of serious harm, permanent disability, or loss of life, thanks to years of Tory NHS negligence, and that he is actually suffering. You should be ashamed. “

Hospitals are under pressure to deliver about 190,000 deliveries a month (about half of the total) longer than necessary, according to AACE reports. Rescuers warn that patients who are in poor health at home or elsewhere are also at risk because they are trapped outside the A & E and unable to respond quickly to 999 calls. ..

A series of recent incidents illustrates the crisis facing ambulance services.

• On October 4, a patient died of cardiac arrest at the Royal Hospital of Worcestershire, Worcester. After waiting 5 hours in the ambulance outside.. Rescuers warned A & E staff that the patient had breathing problems, but the patient died despite being rushed to the resuscitation room.

• A woman died in eastern England last month After waiting an hour for the ambulance crew To contact her about what was supposed to be a 7 minute response. The 50 miles between Norfolk’s Cromer and Waveney had no crew, so an ambulance from Ipswich in Suffolk had to answer the 999 call.

Department health A social care spokesperson said: The NHS England and Improvement has helped increase ambulance confidence by adding £ 55 million to increase winter staff and enhance control room and frontline capabilities.

“We are helping the NHS respond to the unprecedented pressures it faces, and this year’s record investment will add over the next six months to support its response to Covid-19. Includes £ 5.4 billion, and £ 36 billion for health and care over the next three years. Year. “