London Ambulances set 45 minute deadline for patient handovers

The NHS in London has told us asking ambulance crews to spend no more than 45 minutes handing patients over to emergency departments is part of a plan to strengthen the response of the health service this winter.

However a spokesperson has stressed to us that it'll only be done if the patient is stable.

The move, which was revealed in a leaked email has been criticised as being unsafe.

Ambulance trusts across the country are struggling to respond to 999 calls on time, with delays handing patients to A&E playing a major role.

The NHS Standard Contract for 2021/22 sets a target that "all handovers between ambulance and A&E must take place within 15 minutes with none waiting more than 30 minutes".

However, immense pressure across the NHS means people can wait far longer owing to a mismatch between a hospital's capacity and the number of patients arriving at A&E.

The leaked email is understood to be from NHS England's urgent and emergency care lead for London and sent to hospital managers. It says:

"From January 3rd we are asking that any patients waiting for 45 minutes for handover... are handed over immediately to ED (emergency department) staff allowing the ambulance clinicians to leave and respond to the next patient waiting in the community.

"If the patient is clinically stable the ambulance clinicians will ensure the patient is on a hospital trolley or wheelchair/chair and approach the nurse in charge of the emergency department to notify them that the patient is being left in the care of the hospital and handover the patient."

The email said that if the patient is not clinically stable, ambulance crews will stay with the patient until handover is achieved but added that the clinical responsibility for the patient lies with the hospital.

The email said the current "operational challenges" in the NHS are "very significant" and "this is a difficult time for everyone".

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: "This move shows the shocking reality of the NHS crisis and is yet further proof that a major incident must now be declared across London.

"The Health Secretary must act now to save the capital's hospitals from being overwhelmed.

"Corridors and waiting rooms are already full with patients coping with severe pain. The Government cannot wait any longer to act.

"London's NHS is collapsing before our eyes. Ministers have spent months arrogantly dismissing or ignoring all warnings from senior health leaders and MPs.

"This is now a life-and-death situation for Londoners. The Government needs to recall Parliament immediately, declare a major incident and above all else, pass a plan to get the country out of this health crisis before more people die."

NHS figures show that 37% of handovers in the week to Christmas Day were delayed by at least 30 minutes, down from 41% the previous week but much higher than the 13% recorded at that point in 2021 and 11% in 2020.

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