Paramedics fear ‘patients may be treated in ambulances outside A&E’

Paramedics have shared their fears that patients may have to be ‘treated in ambulances’ outside A&E departments if huge pressures on the system continue.

NHS workers on the frontline have been warning for months that the service is under strain due to a combination of factors including a waning workforce, Covid, respiratory infections, a backlog of patients and a build-up of health problems through lockdowns.

Last month, the Manchester Evening News told of reports from one paramedic that hospital staff were already treating ambulances as ‘an extension of their department’, with patient blood tests and assessments taking place on vehicle gurneys.

READ MORE: Ambulances queue, A&E fills and an exhausted paramedic bears witness to a broken system spiralling into chaos

But frontline staff are concerned this will be taken even further – with more advanced treatments administered outside department doors.

“It’s shocking. We are at maximum peak for queuing, patients are already being treated in corridors,” said the paramedic, who asked not to be named.

“We are concerned that hospitals will start trying to treat patients in the back of ambulances if this continues. It’s not happened so far but I feel it’s going to come close to that – just because of the high acuity of queuing.”

The paramedic said their training did not extend to administering certain medications or treatments – and that patients stuck in ambulances requiring, for example, antibiotics through a drip, may need to be attended to by a hospital doctor.

He said this would mean not only forcing a doctor away from the hospital, but also delaying the ambulance which might be needed on another call.

The paramedic added: “We can’t look after patients if we don’t have the training for the euipment or drugs they need.

“Hospital staff will have to stay in the ambulance and that will have a knock-on effect.

“It will deplete hospital staff. It will also hold us back from the next job.”

The paramedic said the concern had been raised by a number of colleagues, adding: “We’ve got to think of how we can protect both patients and staff.

“It’s not happened yet – but we’ve not even had a cold snap yet and there is already queuing in the corridors and outside in ambulances. What’s going to happen in a few weeks’ time?”

For months now, frontline workers have warned of long waits for patients calling 999 and ambulances queuing in their dozens outside A&E departments – in some cases for hours on end.

Last week, the Manchestet Evening News reported on the tragic death of Bina Patel, 56, who died after waiting ‘almost an hour’ for an ambulance.

Such reports are now reflected in the figures, with the latest North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) stats showing that patients calling 999 for ‘emergency’ conditions like heart attacks and strokes are routinely waiting over an hour for an ambulance – against a target of 18 minutes.

The concerning figure was among a raft of results published on Thursday which show NWAS is failing all its targets – prompting bosses to issue a statement detailing high call volumes, longer hospital handovers and a spike in patients calling 999 but not needing to attend hospital.

They have also revealed plans to boost their fleet and workforce, as well as developing a system where patients arriving by ambulance may bypass A&E to go straight to a specialist ward.

An NWAS spokesman said: “ Handovers are proving challenging while the NHS as a whole is under pressure. We are working closely with hospitals and the wider health systems to mitigate these as much as possible and have implemented a package of measures to review and minimise patient harm, including direct access to specific wards for some ambulance patients.”

The Manchester Evening News has asked the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC) and NHS England for comment.

On Thursday, the GMHSC Partnership issued the following statement from Sarah Price, interim chief officer.

She said: “The pressure that we’ve been seeing across all health and care services in Greater Manchester persists this week, not least in our hospitals.

“In order to ease some of this pressure, work is taking place to make sure people are being discharged from hospital as soon as if safe to do so. This will mean no one is staying in hospital longer than needed and beds are available for those who require them.

“GPs, optometrists, dentists and pharmacists also continue to face high demand and as seasonal illness begin to spread more widely this is unlikely to ease.

“The NHS will always be there for those who need it, but everyone can support us to be able to help those with the greatest need by thinking about how, when and where to get help.

“And please if you’re eligible for a free flu vaccination, or are yet to be fully vaccinated against Covid, make sure you get protected – keeping yourself well this winter is not only better for you but every resident of Greater Manchester.”