Watch: Ambulances 'stacked up' outside a West Midlands Hospital

Video footage released to the Express & Star shows ambulances 'stacked up' outside the A and E department at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley last night (Tuesday, January 7).

Darren Millett-Kirkham, a member of the voluntary Midland Freewheelers blood bike emergency rider service took the video whilst on his way home to Kingswinford. Mr Millett-Kirkham said it is always busy at the hospital - but this was "the worst" he has ever known it.

The Freewheelers deliver blood, medication, samples, breast milk and medical equipment and Mr Millett-Kirkham said they had been busier than ever in 2024 and were expecting to do even bigger numbers this year.

He said: "We get access overnight to the road which is normally reserved for ambulances and they have been stacked up for the last week or so."I have heard of long waits for people who are stuck in the ambulance outside A and E waiting to be seen.

"The overflow of ambulances was the worst I have ever seen last night and I understand it has been the case all over Christmas."Staff are under pressure I know that because we work closely with them doing the deliveries and I would urge people to think twice before calling an ambulance or attending the emergency department."

The footage comes as hospitals in Birmingham, Cornwall, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Plymouth and Liverpool have declared critical incidents due to "exceptionally high demands" in emregency departments with a patient at one hospital forced to wait 50 hours to be admitted to a ward.

In response Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust which runs Russells Hall Hospital said its capacity was back to "usual" for this time of year and that it would like to reassure patients that it was working tirelessly to ensure all patients were safe. 

Have you experienced issues accessing A&E departments in the West Midlands? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below