The number of people who endure “car waiting times” of more than 12 hours in A&E departments has reached a record high, as new figures show.
In November, 10,646 people in England’s hospitals waited more than 12 hours from the decision to be admitted to actually admitted to treatment.
The number rose from 7,059 in October, the highest in a calendar month since records began in August 2010.
Meanwhile, one in ten patients who arrived at hospitals in England by ambulance last week waited more than an hour to be handed over to the emergency room.
A handover delay doesn’t always mean that a patient has been waiting in the ambulance. You may have been moved to an A&E department but the staff were not available to complete the handover.
The numbers give a snapshot of pressure hospitals in England ahead of Christmas time as the government implements its Covid Plan B to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.
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