NHS crisis: Rise in Nottinghamshire ambulance response times, A&E wait times and bed blocker numbers

Waits in A&E departments also reached a new high, with just 65 per cent of patients being seen within four hours in December, far lower than the 95 per cent target.

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments to be admitted has risen above 50,000 for the first time.

Hospital bed-blocking has also hit a record high, with an average of 14,069 patients fit to leave hospital but unable to do so last week, up 10 per cent on the week before.

Figures show East Midlands Ambulance Service responded to 11,595 of the most serious category one) incidents in December, with an average waiting time for patients of 10 minutes and 54 seconds, missing the Government target of seven minutes.

In Nottinghamshire, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust had 76,615 patients on the waiting list for hospital treatment as of November 2022 of which 4,614 had been waiting more than a year.

At the same time, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Mansfield Community and Sutton’s King’s Mill hospitals,m had 47,006 patients on its waiting list, of which 743 had been waiting more than a year.

On the plus side, both trusts were better than the UK average for the number of weeks people waiting to start treatment with NUHT patients waiting, on average, 13 weeks and SFHT patients 11.2 weeks – the national average is 13.6 weeks.

SFH had 16,965 patients attending A&E in December 2022, of which 65.8 per cent were seen inside four hours, which is below the national target, while Nottingham Citycare Partnership had 5,730 A&E patients, of which 72.6 per cent were seen inside four hours, also below the national target.

NUH had 19,071 A&E patients in December, but did not provide data on waiting times for patients to be seen.

In the week ending January 8, NUH had 281 cases of delayed discharge, known as bed-blockers, where people are ready to leave hospital, but have nowhere suitable to go, up from 254 the week before, while SFH had 97, up from 88 the week before.

Ben Holdaway, director of operations at EMAS, said: “We are very sorry that due to a number of factors, patients in our communities are waiting longer than we would like for an ambulance response.

“We continue to experience immense pressure on our ambulance service and our staff are working phenomenally hard to get to the sickest and most severely injured patients.

“Our colleagues in our 999 control rooms work tirelessly to assess and reassess the condition of our patients who are waiting for an ambulance, to ensure that people who need medical attention most urgently receive the first available ambulance.

"We urge the public to play their part by only calling 999 if life is at threat, and to use alternative services such as 111 online, GP, pharmacies or urgent treatment centres for other concerns.

"This allows us to respond to patients who need our ambulances with highly-skilled clinicians and life-saving equipment on board."

Amanda Sullivan, chief executive of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “The NHS in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, like the rest of the country, is currently under extreme pressure with a huge demand for our services.

"Teams across the health and care system are working together to reduce waiting times for procedures, speed up ambulance handovers and ensure that hospital beds are available for those who need them.

“The local NHS is working closely with local authorities and care home providers to discharge patients from hospital by supporting people to go into care homes or be supported at home by a package of social care.

"To help with this, family and friends can help by supporting their loved ones to return home safely if they are well enough to be discharged.

"This may be by ensuring they are supported to travel to their home or care home or have the right comfortable clothes to welcome them back from hospital.

“The public can help the local NHS by making sure they are seen in the right place.

"You can do this by only calling 999 or attending A&E departments for serious accidents or emergencies, considering using urgent treatment centres for things like sprains and strains, getting your flu and covid-19 jabs, using your local pharmacy for things like allergies, coughs and colds and calling the mental health crisis line on 0808 1963779 if you are in mental health distress.

"If you are unsure where you should go, NHS 111 can help – search online for NHS 111 or dial 111 from any phone.

"This will make sure you are seen in the right place and by the right person.”