NEW data has revealed that the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, has the longest ambulance handover times in the country.
Data published by NHS England shows that 75.2% of patients arriving by ambulance waited longer than 30 minutes to be handed to A&E teams at GWH last week.
A spokesperson for the hospital said their urgent and emergency care services are under significant pressure, but teams are working hard to minimise delays adding that some patients remain in the care of the ambulance service so patients with "the most life-threatening conditions can be prioritised first".
In September, a Emergency Department at a cost of over £30 million - at the time of opening, hospital bosses said they hoped the new unit would reduce waiting times, with a 60 per cent bigger footprint, the new Emergency Department, and accompanying Children’s Emergency Unit and improved same day emergency care service, would ensure unplanned healthcare provision is fit for the increasing demand and growing population of the town.
Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) came fourth in the list with 71% of patients waiting over 30 minutes for handover.
A spokesperson for the RUH said: "Our teams work tirelessly to provide the best possible care in the Emergency Department and are working hard to eliminate waits.
"We are sorry that some patients arriving by ambulance still experience waits longer than we would like,"
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