999 crews diverted 30 miles away to cut 'handover delays'

Some ambulances sent to Burton hospital

- By Phil Corrigan

NEW plans have been drawn up to cut lengthy A&E waiting times at Stoke-on-Trent's main hospital.

Average ambulance handover delays at the Royal Stoke hit two-and-a-half hours during the worst week in winter, as services struggled to cope with demand.

While the situation has since improved, the average of one-hour 40 minutes for the week starting April 14 was still above the 45-minute target.

in that week, the proportion of A&E patients were seen or discharged within four hours increased to 67.5 per cent, compared to the target of 78 per cent.

Bosses at University Hospitals of North Midlands have now put in place an improvement plan involving changes to staffing and process across urgent and emergency care.