An ambulance crew that left a neo-natal patient to hospital was kept waiting there for six-and-a-half hours before she was moved elsewhere, it was revealed today.
The turnaround time was recorded last year at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, the Ambulance Service confirmed, adding it did not affect emergency responses.
Sometimes crews have to wait at hospital once they have delivered a patient to ensure “continuity of care”, for example if they are shifted to a larger centre for more specialist treatment, the spokesman said.
Although patients are handed over to hospital on average within 20 minutes, Assembly member Daithi McKay said the worst delays raised serious concerns.
“The health minister [Michael McGimpsey] needs to ensure that in terms of the Ambulance Service we are getting value for money. A lot of people would feel that having an ambulance sitting there for over six hours isn’t value for money,” he said.
Mr McGimpsey faced criticism for spending on artwork and agency staff during a separate debate yesterday in the Assembly.
Mr McKay added: “There is a lot more room for improvement there.
“At the minute some ambulances are waiting around hospitals for more than six hours and I think the minister should look at the reasoning behind that to ensure that the ambulance can be freed up when necessary and not tied up for the best part of the day, especially when resources are so tight.”
There were other cases where turnaround times exceeded four hours, an Assembly response to Mr McKay added. These affected Antrim Area, Altnagelvin, Derry, and the Royal Victoria, Belfast.
A spokesman for the Ambulance Service said the clinical need of the patient determined how long a crew waited at hospital.
The spokesman added: “This [6.5 hours] example cited would not reflect the day-to-day use of ambulance resources.
“It should also be set in the context of NIAS responding to approximately 110,000 emergency calls per year.” He said average turnaround times compared favourably with ambulance services throughout the UK.
PA