When her one-year-old's fever persisted for the fifth day in a row, Chloe, then a first-time mother, knew that she needed to take him to a doctor immediately. Like most parents who have had to deal with a medical emergency after clinic hours, she brought him straight to a children's emergency department. "General practitioners (GPs) that open 24 hours a.
A&E patients waited more than half an hour before entering Great Western Hospital after arriving in ambulances, new figures reveal. Health think tank the Nuffield Trust said the NHS was under enormous pressure, with the queues of ambulances seen across England in recent weeks likely caused by a surge in coronavirus cases and reduced capacity. NHS England figures show 467 patients arrived at A&E at GWH by ambulance between December 21 and 27. A total of 53 people had to wait between 30 and 60 minutes – and 28 had to wait even longer. National guidance says patients arriving at an emergency department by ambulance must be handed over to the care of A&E staff within 15 minutes.