Significant concerns have been raised as ambulances continue to face lengthy delays when transferring patients at major hospitals in Birmingham, impacting staff welfare and emergency service efficiency.
Rising Handover Breaches and Crew Wellbeing
Board members at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust were informed of a worrying increase in ambulance handover breaches exceeding 45 minutes. This issue means that West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) crews are frequently unable to finish their shifts on time, raising serious concerns for their wellbeing.
A report presented to the board revealed that in September 2025, there were a total of 3,831 handover breaches across Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, and Good Hope hospitals. This marked an increase from the 3,410 breaches recorded in August.
A Glimmer of Improvement in Average Times
Despite the rise in breaches, the data also showed some positive signs when comparing year-on-year performance for September. All three hospitals demonstrated an improvement in their average handover times compared to September 2024.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital saw its average time drop dramatically from just over one hour and 10 minutes to 44 minutes and 15 seconds.
Heartlands Hospital, which had the highest average time in September 2024 at one hour and 35 minutes, reduced its wait to 56 minutes and 37 seconds.
At Good Hope Hospital, the average handover time, while still over an hour at 1:03.54, was a significant improvement from the previous year's time of one hour and 28 minutes.
Collaborative Plan to Tackle the Crisis
Iain Pickles, UHB Chief Operating Officer, acknowledged the severity of the problem, stating that over 40 per cent of arriving ambulances experience handovers taking more than 45 minutes. He admitted that UHB is an "outlier" in this regard and that the issue demands "real focus."
In response, UHB and WMAS are now working together to develop a co-designed plan to address the delays. The immediate focus will be on managing the situation around shift handovers for ambulance crews to prevent staff from being delayed at the end of their shifts.
This initial work is the first step in a broader, collaborative effort to substantively tackle the persistent challenge of delayed handovers, which remains under the oversight of NHS England. The national target is for an average ambulance handover of 15 minutes, with no handover exceeding 45 minutes.
