Patients left frustrated after ambulances forced to queue up outside QA Hospital

Those stuck in the ambulances – including one person whose hip had ‘popped out’ – were forced to wait as the vehicles ground to a halt at the hospital yesterday afternoon.

Reports of up to 20 stationary ambulances were said to be wide of the mark by the hospital.

Nigel Kee, chief operating officer at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘Earlier today a number of ambulances arrived at the hospital within a short period of time.

‘This does not mean that all of those ambulances were queuing.’

The hospital did concede though that some patients were made to wait.

Mr Kee continued: ‘Unfortunately some patients waited longer than we would have liked.

‘However the safety and care of our patients is always our primary concern and all patients who arrive at our emergency department are assessed and prioritised according to clinical need.’

A spokeswoman for the hospital added: ‘We would like to reiterate that at no point was there 20 ambulances queuing on site.’​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​