THERE appears to have been long waits at Worcestershire Royal Hospital tonight (September 19)  as a number of ambulances have been queuing outside. 

An eyewitness snapped a picture of eight ambulances outside the hospital at around 7pm this evening (September 19). 

A recent report by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) said that nationally, in the 12 months to March 2023, nearly two million hours were lost due to delays exceeding the 15-minute target.

In December 2012 there were an estimated 5,226 handover delays over an hour across England, but in December 2022 there were 66,000, according to the report.

In April we reported the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating for the county’s A&E department has moved from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’ following an inspection, which took place in November last year.

Under-pressure hospital staff were praised by CQC inspector Charlotte Rudge who said: “We found that, despite the considerable pressure, there were significantly improved processes to assess, monitor and treat patients compared to our last inspection.

“However, the department was under considerable pressure and assessments and particularly reassessments were not always completed as required.