MORE than 80 patients were forced to wait up to an hour in ambulances after arriving at a Southampton hospital.
In the week leading up to December 18, 81 patients were forced to wait between 30 minutes and an hour before being allowed to enter University Hospital Southampton.
This makes up ten per cent of the 882 total ambulance arrivals for that week.
Meanwhile, four, less than one per cent of the total arrivals, waited in an ambulance for at least one hour in line with numbers from the previous week, NHS England figures show.
However, NHS targets state that trusts should complete 95 per cent of all ambulance handovers in 30 minutes, with all done in less than one hour.
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University Hospital Southampton (UHS) previously said that it, and its colleagues across the region, is experiencing "extreme pressure" including "record levels of demand in [its] emergency department".
Data also shows that Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust has struggled with 78 (13 per cent) of patients left waiting in an ambulance for at least one hour when they arrived at A&E, up from 40 the week before.
A further 79 were forced to wait between 30 minutes and one hour, meaning 26 per cent of the 604 ambulance arrivals were delayed by between half an hour or more with at least 112 hours lost.
Meanwhile, more than 16,300 handover delays an hour or longer were recorded across all hospital trusts last week, according to NHS England – up 31 per cent from 12,500 the week before.
The spokesperson for UHS added: "We always endeavour, wherever possible, to offload patients from ambulances to enable them to get back on the road, helping people who need emergency care.
“Our staff are working incredibly hard to care for everyone who needs our help and our emergency department is always available to those whose condition is urgent or life-threatening.
“We are asking members of the community to help us by thinking about the best way to get the treatment you need; only come to ED in an emergency, consider visiting your local pharmacy and use 111 to help find the right service for you.”
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