Number of ambulance delay deaths rises from one in 2020 to 37 in 2022
Deaths of patients who have died after an ambulance delay have increased significantly.
West Midlands Ambulance Service says crews had to wait a total of 40,000 hours waiting to discharge patients into hospitals in October alone, which keeps them off the road.
Figures have been released relating to the number of deaths where the case has been highlighted by the ambulance service as an area of concern and it has been declared a potential serious incident.
In 2020 the death of one person was recorded after a serious incident was declared.
In 2021 the number of deaths rose to 22 and in the first nine months of October, 2022 the figure had leapt to 37, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of cases which have been called as serious incidents. The vast majority of these are where patients have come to harm as a result of crews being unable to respond to patients in a timely manner, due to the level of hospital handover delays.”
The service is also facing strikes by paramedics and call handlers.
