Alert over steep rise in handover delays
An ambulance trust is warning that delays handing patients over to hospitals have “significantly deteriorated” in the past two months, with one waiting nearly 20 hours.
Ambulance trusts suffer as calls jump 13% in London
Ambulance trusts are battling an extremely tough October with calls in one region up by 13 per cent year-on-year and others struggling with hospital handovers.
Ambulance services hit crucial target
Ambulances reached some of the most seriously ill people within an average of 30 minutes last month – meeting a key NHS England target for the first time in more than a year.
NHSE admits ‘urgent’ ambulance target will be missed in capital
NHS England has agreed ambulance trusts can meet ‘realistic’ response times for ‘urgent’ ambulance calls including some heart attacks and stroke this winter, citing ‘service pressures, resources and demand’.
Trust refuses to share full data with ICBs, citing ‘counter terrorism’ concerns
An ambulance trust with some of England’s worst handover delays has refused to share some patient data with local partners on the grounds the information relates to “counter terrorism and other sensitive” details.
Five trusts join forces on AI and procurement
Five ambulance service trusts are forming a group, which will include joint projects on artificial intelligence, and a potential move to standardisation and joint procurement of vehicles.
Four regions still without extra ambulances promised by NHSE
Four regions that successfully bid for dedicated ambulances for mental health patients are still without the specialist vehicles, despite growing concerns the NHS is unable to respond to people in crisis.
Trust’s ‘leadership behaviour’ attacked by six ICBs
Six integrated care board chiefs in the Midlands have written to an ambulance trust over a “pattern of behaviour” they claim its leadership team has displayed since its Care Quality Commission rating was downgraded.
Trust sets £20m ultimatum for ICBs to fund CQC requirements
An ambulance trust is preparing to ask its commissioners for an extra £20m – and is planning to withdraw some staff seconded to work at A&Es – after the Care Quality Commission ordered it to improve response times.
Trust loses ‘outstanding’ rating
An ambulance trust rated “outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission since 2019 has lost the top-tier rating.
Outside CEOs bring ‘positive challenge’ to sector, says review author
The senior leader who carried out a cultural review of the ambulance sector has said bringing in chief executives from outside has “shone a different light” on the service, although she stressed it was not a “silver bullet”.
Waiting times focus ‘overshadows misconduct’, finds NHSE review
Ambulance trusts have often prioritised capacity and response times over dealing with cases of misconduct, a review of culture in the sector for NHS England has found.
Trust loses national emergency contract after 13 years
A key part of the NHS’s national emergency response system has been handed to a new trust to run for the next five years.
Carbon Copy: Why the NHS still buys diesel ambulances
The ideas, policies and challenges at the heart of the NHS goal for net zero emissions, from HSJ sustainability correspondent Zoe Tidman.
Exclusive: Dozens of new ambulances delayed after supplier goes bust
The delivery of more than 100 new ambulances to the NHS could be delayed ahead of winter after the company paid to supply them went into administration, HSJ has learned.
Major incident unit faces possible closure
The future of a specialist ambulance unit responsible for responding to major incidents such as terrorist attacks is in question following ongoing delay in putting its new contract out to tender.
A&E handover delays up by a fifth, leak reveals
Hours lost to ambulance handover delays shot up by nearly a quarter last month amid growing fears about the pressure on ambulance services going into winter, according to figures seen by HSJ.
Trust needs £20m to deliver asks from Manchester bomb inquiry
Ambulance trusts are lobbying for tens of millions in additional funding to meet key targets set by the Manchester Arena bombing inquiry.
‘Great’ trust seen as ‘insular and dismissive of integration’
A “great” ambulance trust’s “uncompromising” focus on outcomes and its own performance has been a barrier to system working and affected relationships with partners, an external review has advised it.
New triage policy implicated in 44-year-old’s death
An ambulance service says it has sped up clinical review of lower-priority calls, after a coroner said the new triage process — introduced in response to recent waiting time pressures — ‘will lead to further deaths’.