West Midlands Ambulance Service lost 14 years waiting to offload patients into 21 regional hospitals

Hospital delays listed from worst to best in a report to councillors in Shropshire

A regional ambulance service spent the equivalent of around 14 and a half YEARS waiting to offload patients into 21 hospitals in just five months, a report shows.

placeholder image — West Midlands Ambulance Service

The report to councillors in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin revealed that from April to August in 2026 the total time lost to West Midlands Ambulance Service staff from delays of more than 15 minutes was an enormous 126,650 hours.

That's the equivalent of 5,277 days or around 14.5 years.

The report listed the hours lost across all five months for 21 hospitals that are served by ambulances from WMAS.

Top of the chart is the Royal Stoke University Hospital on 25,847 hours, or 2.9 years.

Both acute hospitals in Shropshire sit in mid table position with the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital recording 3,662 hours (152 days) and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital just behind with 3,269 hours (136 days).

The meeting of the joint health overview and scrutiny committee was held to discuss issues affecting urgent and emergency care.

Vivek Khashu, strategy and engagement director at WMAS said hospitals as a whole remain "miles away" from a supposed maximum handover time of 45 minutes.

"16,000 patients a month wait more than 45 minutes in the West Midlands," he said.

When asked by health campaigner David Sandbach to explain why the situation was better in some hospitals than others Khashu said there were a 'whole range' of issues.

"Some of the places that are performing best are integrated acute and community providers," he added.

He welcomed that change happening in Shropshire and praised hospital leadership for their actions to tackle the issue.

"When there is a problem as big as you can see it is, and you know it is a lot better in other parts of the country, then you start to think what else could it be.

"Everyone else is cash strapped, constrained and everything else but we are here, so what else could it be?"

The meeting also heard what The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), community services, GPs, and council social services teams are doing to speed up the flow of patients into and out of hospitals.

The LDRS contacted the hospitals with the longest and shortest delays on the list to invite them to comment.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital which tops the delays list.

It has one of the busiest emergency departments in the country, serving a large population across Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Dr Diane Adamson, UHNM chief medical officer, said: "We recognise that ambulance hours lost represent patients waiting in the community for an ambulance and reducing these delays is a key priority.

"We are working closely with our partners and NHS England's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) team on an extensive improvement programme to reduce delays as quickly as possible."

A spokesperson for the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust said that the single figures for hours lost at City and Sandwell Hospitals do not reflect the current circumstances.

The spokesperson pointed to the figure for Midland Metropolitan University Hospital as representing the trust after it brought together the emergency services previously provided by City and Sandwell hospitals.

“Midland Metropolitan University Hospital brought together the emergency services previously provided at City and Sandwell hospitals," said the spokesperson.

"The figures for those former Emergency Departments therefore do not represent our current ambulance handover performance."

The figure for Midland Met is seventh on the list with 8,227 hours lost, 342 days.

The spokesperson added: “At Midland Met, our focus is on safe, timely assessment and treatment.

"Our approach includes senior nursing oversight, early investigations, seated care for patients assessed as suitable, and access to alternative urgent care pathways where appropriate.

“We recognise the impact of handover delays on patients and ambulance crews.

"Reducing these delays remains a priority across the hospital and wider health and care system.”

Ranked: Lost hours by hospital across the region 2026/27

1 Royal Stoke 25,847

2 Heartlands 20,076

3 Russells Hall 13,054

4 New Cross 11,380

5 Good Hope 8,352

6 Worcester Royal 8,322

7 Midland Met 8,227

8 Uni Hosp Cov & Warwick 7,871

9 Queen Elizabeth 5,596