Ambulance and hospital delay concerns persist at Royal Cornwall Hospital
Long waits for emergency care continue as pressure mounts on Cornwall's health services
Hundreds of individuals in Cornwall continue to face prolonged waiting times for emergency hospital beds each month, despite figures showing some improvement.
Ambulances are experiencing significant handover delays at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, with recent data from NHS England revealing an average waiting time of 1 hour and 8 minutes for patient handovers.
Additionally, response times for Category 2 emergencies, including strokes and heart attacks, exceed 40 minutes in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board area, placing them among the longest nationwide.
Despite a decrease from 804 cases in January 2024, 529 attendees at Cornwall's A&E departments waited over 12 hours for admission this February, highlighting ongoing challenges compared to pre-pandemic figures.
Local officials, like Liberal Democrat Cornwall councillor Ruth Gripper, have expressed concern over the pressure on the hospital and the impact on patients and staff.
South Western Ambulance Service has outlined measures to address these delays, including increasing ambulance availability, employing remote patient triage, and developing strategies for timely handovers.
The percentage of patients seen within four hours at Treliske's emergency department has dropped to 42%, marking the lowest levels since October 2024, which is significantly below the national average of 59.4%.