Urgent care patients facing five-hour ambulance waits

Centres in London forced to shut after hitting full capacity

- REBECCA THOMAS

Patients needing urgent ambulances in London faced five-hour waits this week as overrun A&E departments struggled to cope with demand, leaked emails show. A series of emails sent to NHS 111 staff on Thursday, seen by The Independent, also warned that urgent treatment centres (UTCs) across the city had been forced to close because they were full.

Staff were told to stop sending patients to at least six UTCs because they could no longer accept them. Demand for NHS services has jumped in the past week due to an increase in Strep A cases combined with a flurry of winter viruses circulating. On Thursday The Independent revealed how A&Es across the country were "overflowing", with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine warning that emergency departments had seen a doubling in children attending for the treatment of winter viruses.

Emails sent yesterday from London Ambulance Service to NHS 111 staff directed them to "please manage patients' expectations as they are extremely busy, Category 2 is having severe delays of up to five hours in some cases". Category two patients, such as those with a suspected stroke who are in need of urgent care, should receive a response within 18 minutes.