• Nuffield Trust publishes report on the growing pressure on ambulance services
• Report finds that pressures on ambulance services are growing at a faster rate than those facing hospitals
• We say demand is rising faster than any increase in staffing leading to slipping performance on response times

The Nuffield Trust has published a report that highlights growing pressures on ambulance services and what that means for patient care.

The report found that in winter 2016/17 the number of ambulance diverts to other hospitals was 80% more than the previous winter, while pressures facing the ambulance service are growing at an even faster rate than those facing hospitals.

Findings revealed that A&E departments were closed to ambulances almost 478 times across three months of this winter.

Responding to the report, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said:

“This report sets out with stark clarity the huge challenges ambulance services face. Demand is rising fast, particularly the most urgent calls, far outstripping any increase in staffing. It therefore comes as no surprise that overall performance against the main response-time targets has slipped.  

Demand is rising fast, particularly the most urgent calls, far outstripping any increase in staffing.

“Ambulance services have also had to contend with the impact of hospitals being forced to temporarily close their emergency departments because they are full – a consequence of the growing pressures on A & E.  The report shows how diverting ambulances to other hospitals is disruptive for paramedics and bad for patients. The sharp increase in the number of diversions is very worrying. Further steps will be needed across health and social care to address these pressures

“The impact on staff morale is also a matter of great concern. We need to ensure staff feel valued and respected

“It is remarkable that despite such a difficult environment, ambulance services have managed to maintain or improve the quality of care in key areas such as heart attack and stroke. This is a testament to the resilience, commitment and the compassion of ambulance staff who routinely go to great lengths to deliver life-saving care.”