Hospital's £100k bill for ambulance delays
11:10am Friday 26th October 2012 in News
The Royal Cornwall Hospital has been charged more than £100,000 for delayed ambulances this year.
The total is due to a £100 charged if ambulances are delayed for more than 30 minutes during patient handover.
A board report at the trust stated that there had been 1,018 recorded delays in 2012.
The RCHT said: "Improving ambulance turn-around times continues to be a priority for us." Adding that it was "working closely" with the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust and at no time were patients left waiting in ambulances outside of the emergency department."
The ambulance trust said the charge was not a fine, it insteed was to cover the cost of "replacement resources" and that the priority for both services was providing the highest standards of patient care.
