Six new ambulance hubs and 42 new and upgraded discharge lounges are opening at hospitals across the country. Some of these facilities are already operational and the government reports they are having an impact and will ultimately help cut urgent and emergency care waiting times for tens of thousands of patients.
The new facilities are backed by the £50 million investment that was announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay in January to help free up hospital beds and cut down on waiting times for patients ahead of next winter.
In certain areas, ambulance queues to hand patients over to hospital care can be made worse due to a lack of physical space. The ambulance hubs will increase efficiency – cutting out unnecessary delays and getting ambulances back on the road faster, ensuring they can reach people as quickly as possible.
In addition to the four ambulance hubs that are already live, located at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford Shropshire, the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, and the Doncaster Royal, two further hubs will come into use this summer at the Queen’s Hospital in Romford, east London, and the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
Feedback from Trusts suggests that 1,000 patients have benefited from the ambulance hubs so far. The Doncaster Royal has met national targets for ambulance handovers every day since its hub opened, while the Leicester Royal Infirmary has reported an 86% reduction in hours lost to delays since November 2022.
The hubs allow ambulances to manoeuvre more quickly and cut out unnecessary delays, freeing-up ambulance crews to get back on the road and respond to emergencies. The lounges will free-up hospital beds and offer patients a more comfortable environment to recover in while they’re waiting to leave hospital.
NHSE National Director of Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care and NHSE Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Sarah-Jane Marsh, says: “Patients who are due to be discharged that day but are waiting for medication or transportation will benefit from the discharge lounges – helping to free up beds and reduce waits for patients waiting to be admitted from A&E. These dedicated rooms will provide 439 additional beds, 364 chairs, and 44 extra trolleys in hospitals, freeing up capacity up across the country.”
Twenty-six discharge lounges are already open, improving patient experience by creating more space in hospitals, offering a comfortable environment with TVs, hot meals and discharge lounge nurses to attend to people’s needs while they are waiting.
