A student paramedic has shared their concerns after joining a queue of 25 emergency ambulances waiting to hand their patients over to accident and emergency staff.
In a worrying message, the student paramedic, based with South Western Ambulance Service, tweeted:
‘Currently 23rd in the queue, out of 25 ambulance crews waiting to enter the emergency department.
‘There’s a palpable sense of concern amongst staff, hearing general broadcast after general broadcast with few remaining resources available to send.
‘It’s not even winter.
‘Help’.
There were reports that another emergency ambulance crew had taken over a patient from another vehicle, with the patient waiting a total of 13.5 hours.
The situation paints a worrying picture for the winter months, with many NHS ambulance trusts noting that the traditional yearly ‘busy period’ hasn’t even hit yet.
Another medic tweeted: ‘We were queuing for 7 hours plus last night; hearing that general broadcast is the worst’.
A ‘general broadcast’ is when control room staff ‘open mic’ an emergency call over a radio system for all emergency crews to hear (usually, ambulance crews are contacted ‘one-to-one’ by the control room).
It means that control room staff need assistance and have no – or inappropriate units – to send to an emergency call, in the hope that an available unit can finish the job they’re currently on, to become free to respond to another emergency call.
One paramedic described it as: ‘It is soul-crushing; sitting outside of A&E for hour after hour babysitting a patient who doesn’t really need to be there but no real alternatives, and hearing “general broadcast general broadcast, cardiac arrest in [location nearby] currently running a solo responder from 30 miles away, ANY ambulances able to assist please contact control’.
Responding to the tweet regarding the queue of 25 emergency ambulances, one user asked: ‘Is the majority as a result of covid?’ which prompted the following reply:
‘Not necessarily.
‘The problem is that patients that would be safe to discharge from hospital with a package of care, are unable to be because of the lack of adult social care services available.
‘This means there aren’t beds available and has caused everything to back up’.
Elsewhere, the Welsh Ambulance Service has already sought the assistance of the military to help them with their service delivery.
Fifty troops from 4 Regiment Royal Logistic Corp have been driving ambulances across Wales since Tuesday, having undergone training at Newport’s Raglan Barracks on the weekend.
They will be joined by a further 50 personnel from the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in the next week.
Lee Brooks, Welsh Ambulance Service Director of Operations, said
“We’re proud and grateful to have the military working alongside us once again, who did a superb job of assisting us on two occasions previously last year.
“Having our Armed Forces colleagues back on board will help us put more ambulances on duty so we can get to more patients, more quickly, while the extreme pressure continues.
“Essentially, they’ll work with one of our clinicians on an emergency ambulance responding to the full range of emergency calls.
“The winter period is our busiest time, and having military support will bolster our capacity and put us in the best possible position to provide a safe service to the people of Wales.”
Major Alex Wilson, Officer Commanding 60 Close Support Squadron, Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, 4 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, said:
“Over the weekend we spent time training with the paramedics and emergency medical technicians to familiarise ourselves with the ambulances, equipment and processes to make sure we can assist in the best way we can.
“The soldiers are ready to begin the task we have been deployed to do in Wales.
“It’s a privilege to be working with our Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues in supporting the NHS in Wales to ease the pressures that currently exist.”
It is the third time the military has supported the Welsh Ambulance Service through the pandemic as part of the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) arrangement.
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