Horrifying rise of 'car park care' as patients are treated in ambulances outside overflowing A&E departments

Corridor attraction has been pushed into the car parkland arsenic A&E departments progressively dainty patients successful ambulances extracurricular hospitals, nurses person warned.

Patients are receiving ‘unacceptable’ attraction extracurricular wards excessively afloat to judge them, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) yearly league was told.

One caregiver revealed however a diligent died aft waiting successful an ambulance for much than a day, adding: ‘This is not care, it is abuse.’

It follows figures released past period showing fractional of ambulance crews waited astatine slightest six hours to manus implicit patients to A&E, portion 1 successful 7 were held extracurricular wards for much than 12 hours. 

More than 2 thirds of the 600 ambulance unit surveyed by commercialized national Unison said they had seen patients deteriorate during specified agelong delays. One successful 20 said a diligent had died successful their attraction portion waiting.

The highest-risk spot successful the NHS is present ‘the backmost of an ambulance’, said caregiver Alison Milliken – who projected the statement astatine the league successful Liverpool.

She added: ‘Across the 4 UK nations we spot what tin lone beryllium described arsenic a crisis. Unprecedented hold successful the ambulance handovers are leaving inpatients stuck successful ambulances for hours, sometimes full shifts, extracurricular exigency departments that simply cannot cope.

‘These vehicles are not equipped for prolonged care. They are not designated to beryllium attraction areas. They are not staffed for extended diligent care, and yet they person softly go overflow spaces and an informal hold of our exigency departments.’

She claimed the contented was portion of the wider corridor attraction situation – wherever patients are near connected trolleys with small privateness oregon dignity due to the fact that determination are not capable beds available.

Ms Milliken added: ‘We are seeing the aforesaid unsafe trends spilling beyond infirmary walls and into ambulance bays.’

Denise Kelly, the RCN’s commercialized national committee chairman, said: ‘This isn’t conscionable corridor care. It’s been extended into the backmost of the car park, into the backmost of an ambulance, and it’s becoming dangerously normalised... It’s unsafe, and it’s utterly unacceptable for our unit and, astir importantly, for each patients.’

Nurses unanimously agreed to unit the Government to determine who should instrumentality work for those waiting extracurricular A&E departments.

There are nary rules stating whether ambulance oregon infirmary unit should instrumentality complaint successful these situations, meaning patients whitethorn person nary 1 taking work for their welfare.

The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.