Royal Stoke told to speed up ambulance handovers

It will need to be done in 45 minutes max

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

STOKE-ON-TRENT'S main hospital will have to slash ambulance handover waits by two thirds to meet a new national standard, a campaigner says.

NHS England's urgent and emergency care (UEC) plan for 2025/26 states that all ambulance handovers must be completed within a maximum of 45 minutes.

Average waits at University Hospital of North Midlands - which runs the Royal Stoke - have been falling from a peak of two-and-a-half hours in December, but ambulances were still being delayed by an average of 64 minutes in the week ending June 23.

Bosses say this improvement is 'in line with trajectory, but the latest UEC report acknowledges that it is still significantly above target and 'not the performance we want for our patients or population!