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Written question asked by Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 March 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 31 March 2022. It was answered by Edward Argar (Conservative) on Tuesday, 26 April 2022 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Ambulance Services: Shropshire

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will request an update from NHS Improvement and NHS England on the steps being taken across the health and care system to tackle ambulance handover delays at Shropshire’s acute hospitals.

Answer

NHS England and NHS Improvement are providing support to 35 challenged hospital sites to improve their patient handover processes, ensuring that these happen within an agreed timeframe and allowing ambulance crews to respond to calls.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has introduced a clinical validation team responsible for triaging lower urgency cases and where appropriate diverting patients to other services, increasing the ‘hear and treat’ rate in Shropshire. Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers at Shropshire’s acute hospitals are improving the flow of patients arriving at accident and emergency (A&E) departments, by cohorting ambulance patients at both sites. A single ambulance crew is responsible for three to four patients, releasing additional crews to respond to calls in the community.

A new Same Day Emergency Centre has opened at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which receives ambulances directly, diverting patients from A&E as clinically appropriate and improving handover times. We have also invested £9.3 million to upgrade the emergency department, delivering additional cubicles, a new and improved majors department, a designated emergency zone for children and young people and a clinical decisions unit.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
149206
Session
2021-22
Subjects
Ambulance services Standards Shropshire Acute beds
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk