Ambulance handover delays in the ED should be a last resort
Abstract
The sight of ambulances queuing outside our crowded emergency departments (EDs) has become a distressing hallmark of a struggling emergency care system. Delayed ambulance handover is one of the most important indicators of a system under pressure. It occurs due to the fragility of community-based services and inadequate hospital bed capacity to meet the needs of a population presenting with increasingly complex needs.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Emergency and Acute Care Studies
Hospital Admissions and Outcomes
Trauma and Emergency Care Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Emergency Nurse
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5–5
- Publication date
- 5 January 2026
- Language
- EN