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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

BIZARRE: Wait times in ambulances in england caused record exposure to severe harm | Mind Blowing Facts

A paramedic is seen near ambulances, parked on the street, in London
A paramedic waits by their ambulance in London. Figures for December show record numbers of patients suffered severe harm as a result of delays. Photograph: Rasid Necati Aslim/Getty Images

Record numbers of patients suffered severe harm last month because they spent so long in the back of ambulances waiting to get into A&E, new NHS figures reveal.

An estimated 57,000 people in England “experienced potential harm”, of whom 6,000 were exposed to “severe harm”, in December – both the largest numbers on record – because they had to wait at least an hour to be handed over to hospital staff, according to NHS ambulance service bosses.

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