London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 14, 2025

NHS ambulance delays leaving patients stuck at GP surgeries for hours

NHS ambulance delays leaving patients stuck at GP surgeries for hours

Family doctors say hard-pressed paramedics prioritise other cases as practices seen as ‘places of safety’

Patients experiencing life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes or major breathing problems are becoming trapped for many hours in GP surgeries, unable to get to hospital, because ambulances are taking so long to turn up after the GP practice rings 999.

GP leaders say growing numbers of very unwell patients are getting caught up in such situations after attending for an appointment. They say hard-pressed ambulance services are seeing surgeries as “places of safety” and taking longer to send paramedics there, because they are so busy dealing with other emergencies and assume GPs and nurses are looking after the patient.

In some cases GPs have become so worried by the long delay for an ambulance that they have ended up driving the patient from their practice to A&E themselves.

The British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of GPs (RCGP) voiced alarm at the recent rise in very sick patients getting stuck on their premises and said the patients could face irreparable harm to their health because they had not been transported to hospital fast enough.

They want ambulance services to stop regarding GP surgeries as “places of safety” and start treating patients stuck there as just as much of a priority as those who are in trouble elsewhere.

Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the BMA’s general practitioners committee, said: “GPs and their teams will always do all they can to respond to clinical emergencies. When we have delays in ambulances arriving it means a nurse or GP being taken away from other appointments, and these incidents are increasingly common.

“It’s vital that when called for help and support, ambulance services treat calls from surgeries as seriously and quickly as they do that from any other location. Delays not only put individual patients at risk but they also take practice clinicians away from the many other patients they need to attend to.”

The incidents are a stark illustration of the pressure NHS ambulance services are under. Ambulance crews are spending huge amounts of time tied up outside hospitals looking after patients because A&Es are too busy to accept them. In late October two patients died in the back of an ambulance while waiting outside Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge and Worcestershire Royal hospital in Worcester.

Dr Joanna Poole, a hospital doctor, tweeted last week about one patient with low oxygen saturation levels waiting for hours, while a man with chest pain was sent in a taxi from his GP’s surgery to the emergency department “arresting in car” because the surgeries were seen as “safe places”.

Last week the medical website Pulse told how Dr Lucy Pocock, a Bristol GP, had taken a six-year-old patient to A&E at 9pm herself after her 999 call at 4.45pm did not yield an ambulance. “I don’t want a patient dying in my care while we wait for an ambulance. It’s not the care I want to give. I don’t want that on my conscience,” Pocock said.

In response to her story, Dr Richard Greenway, another GP in Bristol, said: “This is getting very dangerous.” He said in recent weeks his practice had had several such incidents, including:

* A patient with a fractured hip who waited nine hours in the surgery for an ambulance before the ambulance service sent a taxi instead at 9pm saying “no ambulance available”.

* A patient with chest pains who missed the chance to have stents fitted because, despite them and their GP dialling 999, no ambulance came to take them to hospital.

* A patient with acute heart failure and atrial fibrillation who had to be kept on oxygen in their surgery for more than four hours before an ambulance arrived.

GPs and practice nurses, despite being highly skilled, cannot give proper care to patients whose life is at risk, Vautrey said. “When a patient is suffering with an urgent or serious medical condition such as a heart attack or stroke, they must be treated by specialist services and clinicians as quickly as possible and in the most appropriate setting, such as an emergency department.”

Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the RCGP, said: “If a member of staff at a GP surgery calls an ambulance, it’s because a patient needs emergency treatment or care that can’t be delivered at the surgery, and as such it’s vital that these calls aren’t deprioritised, as per some reports we’re hearing about.

“While GP surgeries are clinical settings staffed by highly trained clinicians, practices may not be equipped with all of the equipment or appropriate medications needed in an emergency situation.”

He and Vautrey acknowledged that ambulance services were not to blame for the long delays because they are under unsustainable pressure owing to lack of resources and record demand.

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which represents England’s 10 ambulance trusts, has been approached for a response.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
×