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Sharp rise in ambulance delays at A&E | |
(35 minutes later) | |
There has been a large rise in the number of patients facing delays when they arrive at A&E in ambulances in England, figures show. | |
In the last week of 2017 there were 16,900 delays of 30 minutes - up by over 40% on the previous week. | |
Delays happen when A&E staff are not available for paramedics to hand over patients too. | |
The figures from NHS England once again illustrate the pressure the health service is under. | |
At least 20 hospital trusts have had to declare major incidents this week - about one in eight of the total. | At least 20 hospital trusts have had to declare major incidents this week - about one in eight of the total. |
The pressures prompted NHS England to order the cancellation of tens of thousands of non-urgent operations until the end of January in an attempt to ease the pressure on hospitals. | The pressures prompted NHS England to order the cancellation of tens of thousands of non-urgent operations until the end of January in an attempt to ease the pressure on hospitals. |
Hunt apology | Hunt apology |
The move prompted Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to apologise to patients. | The move prompted Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to apologise to patients. |
Non-urgent treatments had already been cancelled until mid-January, but NHS England said on Tuesday that would now be extended to the end of the month. | Non-urgent treatments had already been cancelled until mid-January, but NHS England said on Tuesday that would now be extended to the end of the month. |
Hospitals have also been given the green light to put patients on mixed wards to help ease the pressure. | |
The data released by NHS England also showed that a record number of calls were made to NHS 111, the free helpline, which was set up in 2014. | |
There were 480,000 calls - a 21% rise on the previous week. | |
Has your operation been cancelled? Please share your experiences with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Has your operation been cancelled? Please share your experiences with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
Or comment here: | Or comment here: |