Patients in the West Midlands, including some of those suffering heart attacks, are being asked to get themselves to hospital amid worsening pressures on ambulance services this winter.
The West Midlands Ambulance Service has advised its 999 call handlers to ask patients if they can make their own way to the hospital when services are under high demand.
According to reports in The Sunday Times a memo was sent to staff explaining the change was needed due to delays in patients getting an ambulance.
The memo said category three and four patients – those who have fallen or are vomiting – will be told: “The ambulance service is under significant pressure, and we don’t have an ambulance available to respond to you. It may be a number of hours before one is available.”
“Is there any way you can arrange to safely make your own way to a hospital emergency department?”
All ambulance services have adjusted their guidance for call handlers, according to the reports.
West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that in some cases it is asking people if they can make their own way to hospital, and if they can’t, help will be arranged.
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The warning comes after data this week showed the time spent by ambulances waiting outside A&Es last week was almost double the amount compared to the previous winter.
Data from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) shows in October, 25,506 patients waited more than two hours in ambulances outside hospitals – up from 20,541 in October 2023.
Due to delays in handing off patients to A&E, ambulance services lost more than 12,000 hours of time, according to AACE.
AACE estimates suggest around 25,000 patients came to harm due to handover delays in September, and of those, 4,000 are likely to have experienced severe harm.
Speaking to The Independent, Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, warned emergency care deaths would rise this year if long stays in A&E increased, after the government did not commit to meeting A&E targets in its six key pledges this week.
Figures published by the NHS on Thursday showed the number of patients in hospital last week with flu was four times the number recorded in the same week last year.
The West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Our staff and volunteers across the service are working exceptionally hard to get to patients as quickly as possible. Sadly, we are seeing some patients wait much longer for a response than we would want as a result of hospital handover delays, for which we apologise.
“When ambulances are delayed handing their patient over at hospital, they are unable to respond to the next call, which impacts on the care of patients in the community. There is a direct correlation between hospital handover delays and our ability to get to patients in the community quickly.”