Exclusive: Ambulance handover delays figures at Essex and East of England hospitals
There's been a reduction in ambulance handover delays across the East of England
Last updated 3 hours ago
The number of ambulance handover delays have dropped across the East of England, according to figures obtained by Greatest Hits Radio news team.
Colchester Hospital has seen an increase in handover delays over a 3 year period, while other Essex hospitals have decreased or stayed the same.
Delays of over two hours in ambulance handovers at Colchester Hospital has almost tripled, from 1378 in 2023, to 3929 in 2025. 30 minute and 60 minute delays also increased.
Other hospitals in the region, have seen more than one in ten handovers delayed by two hours - such as Colchester General Hospital and Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital.
Mark Wibberley, a paramedic at East of England Ambulance Service and a representative for Unison.
He says that any delays are “frustrating for patients because they want to go to the hospital, not to be in the back of an ambulance”.
“It’s frustrating for us because we're giving the care to those people; they'll want to go to the toilet, we need to take them in to A&E and then back to the ambulance, then we might take them over if they need an x-ray, and depending on how long the queue is, you're with that person a very long time.”
Mr Wibberley says that it is having an impact on the retention of paramedics as “a lot of young people would probably join and then think this isn't actually what I joined for”.
Adding, for the public to “be kind and patient, and realise that we are doing the best possible job we can”.
Figures across East of England Ambulance Service:
Overall, the average handover is just under 15 minutes, which is the national target for a patient to be admitted.
There were 132,265 handovers delayed by 30 minutes in 2025 – a decrease of 5.5% compared to figures for the year before.
The trend continues with a drop of 3.6% in the number of patients waiting for an hour to be admitted and a 1.6% decrease in two-hour delays.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We are working closely with our hospital partners to reduce handover delays as we know the impact this has on our ability to respond to patients.
"We're bringing more clinicians into our control rooms so those patients who can be safely cared for in the community get the right support, freeing up our ambulances for people who need urgent help.
"The public can play their part in supporting the ambulance service by using NHS 111 online or on the phone, and only calling 999 in a genuine emergency."
Relevant hospital trusts have been contacted for comment.
Mike Meers Managing Director at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust which runs Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, said: “Providing safe and high-quality care at all times is our highest priority.
“The number of very unwell patients coming to our hospitals can mean, at peak times, it takes longer for ambulance crews to handover a patient’s care to hospital staff. Patient safety is always most important and any patients waiting with ambulance crews are regularly assessed.
“We are committed to working in partnership with ambulance service colleagues and other partners to deliver safe and timely handovers. We have clear action plans in place to significantly reduce ambulance handover times at both Colchester and Ipswich hospitals.”