Ambulance patient waited more than 25 hours for handover at Antrim Hospital

AN ambulance patient waited more than 25 hours for handover to Antrim Area Hospital in recent weeks, new figures show.

A written answer from the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to DUP MLA Diane Dodds detailed the figures across Northern Ireland hospitals from December 1 up until January 13.

The longest handover time at Antrim of 25 hours and 15 minutes was followed by 23 hours and 36 minutes at the Ulster Hospital as well as nearly 19 hours at both the Craigavon and Causeway sites.

In Belfast - The Mater Hospital had the longest handover of more than 15 hours, with nearly 14 at the Royal group of hospitals while Altnagelvin in Derry’s longest waiting time was 12 hours and 41 minutes.

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The South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen’s longest handover was nine hours and 34 minutes, with over six hours in Newry’s Daisy Hill hospital and over four hours at Belfast City Hospital.

Average ambulance handover times at each of the hospitals ranged from around 30 minutes to over three hours at the Ulster Hospital.

With 8,510 hospital attendances from ambulance patients in December, nearly half (3,963) took longer than 60 minutes to handover and with a regional average waiting time of just under two hours.

With well-documented pressures on the ability to discharge medically fit patients into suitable community care, a further question from Mrs Dodds also set out the specific reasons for keeping patients in hospital.

As of January 16, there were a total of 541 medically fit patients in Northern Ireland who were having their discharge delayed.

The rollout of the new Encompass computer system, meant the specific reasons for delays were only available across the Southern and Western Trusts.

Of 220 patients across Craigavon, Daisy Hill, Altnagelvin and the South West Acute hospitals – 67 were held up by “internal hospital processes,” 40 had no domiciliary care package, 31 were waiting for assessment/acceptance to a care home, 28 due to dementia and with only two delays blamed on patient/relative choice.

In his written answer, the health minister said reducing ambulance handover times was a key priority, given the knock-on delays for paramedics trying to respond to emergency calls.

He added that initiatives from the Northern Ireland Ambulance included the introduction of an Integrated Clinical Hub, which places senior clinicians within NIAS’s control centre – allowing them to triage patients and avoid unnecessary hospital visits by referring them to alternative treatments.

The introduction of mental health practitioners in control rooms has also reduced the amount of ED attendances while other measures include the Hospital at Home initiative which increases community-based care.

Commenting on the figures, Mrs Dodds said every trust and hospital across Northern Ireland had missed the NHS target of 30 minutes for handover from an ambulance to an emergency department.

As well as lost time and money, she said the delays had a serious impact on patient health.

She referenced a 2021 report from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which said one in ten patients delayed by more than a hour in England could experience “severe harm.”

On the difficulties in discharging medically fit hospital patients, she said: “This self-sabotage can’t be allowed to go on. I repeat my call for the Minister to establish a dedicated team to tackle delayed discharges.”

On the Health Minister’s promise to prioritise ambulance handover times, she said: “This could hardly be considered a picture of success. Where might we be otherwise?

“I have asked the Minister further questions about the number of ‘on the road’ hours lost as the result of delayed handovers, and await his response.”

Mrs Dodds added that the Northern Ireland Audit Office had been investigating the issue, aiming to publish a report next month which she hoped would increase pressure to improve handover times.