PARAMEDICS are being forced to wait with patients at A&E in Bolton — with more than 500 handovers delayed by 30 minutes or more in the six weeks leading up to Christmas.

New figures for November and December show that Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Bolton Hospital, had the highest number of patient handover delays in Greater Manchester.

Bosses said that, like other hospitals, the Royal Bolton was experiencing an “especially” busy period this winter.

NHS data shows that from November 3 to December 14 handovers were delayed 512 times — an average of 12 delays every day.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “We are consistently one of the busiest hospitals in Greater Manchester for ambulance arrivals at A&E and, although until a few months ago we were performing well on the A&E waiting target, in common with most other hospitals, we have had an especially busy period.

“We fully recognise that it is far from ideal for a patient to be waiting.

"These patients are in the care of trained ambulance staff until they can be safely received by staff in A&E.”

There were 362 patient delays at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, and at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust that number stood at 16 during the same time period.

At Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust there were 158 patient handover delays.

The North West Ambulance Service said it had experienced its busiest period since its formation in 2006, higher than when the area is experiencing extreme weather conditions.

Director of operations for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), Derek Cartwright said: “The call volume we are currently experiencing is unprecedented and our crews are working extremely hard to reach those who urgently need our help as quickly as possible.

“We are doing all we can to continue to provide a high quality service but would be very grateful to the people of the North West if they would assist us by only calling in real emergencies and first of all consider the alternatives we have outlined here.”

Steve Hynes, Greater Manchester head of service for NWAS, said: “We have been working closely for a number of years with our health partners and commissioners to ensure a collaborative focus is maintained on achieving timely patient handovers.

“Generally, the majority of hospitals are doing very well, however there are a small number of hospitals which we are working with more closely.

“NWAS has seen a significant rise in activity in recent months, particularly Red 1 and 2 calls which are serious life-threatening incidents, and this undoubtedly means more patients are being taken to hospital.”