Patients being admitted to hospital by ambulance are facing lengthy delays as the pressure of increased Covid cases begins to hit.

Ambulance handovers are taking up to five hours to process at Medway Maritime Hospital, it has been reported.

The strain of the second wave of coronavirus is taking its toll as health bosses also begin to grapple with additional pressure as winter approaches.

KentOnline revealed today 95 confirmed patients with coronavirus were receiving treatment at the Gillingham hospital as of Tuesday morning.

Regular services, appointments and elective surgery are continuing at Medway.

But the Health Service Journal (HSJ), a specialist health news publication, today reports ambulance crews waiting up to five hours to pass on patients to hospital medics.

NHS England guidelines state "ambulance handover (clinical handover and offload) is reliably completed within 15 minutes of arrival" adding that while delays are "rare" they are usually the result of "an extraordinary peak in demand".

It has not been confirmed how severe or frequent the delays within Medway NHS Trust have been.

According to the HSJ, the five-hour waits are down to increased numbers of patients across the hospital and issues discharging patients into care homes hampering doctors' being able to admit patients into A&E.

It comes as the number of Covid patients at Medway hospital increased by 82.7% in the week from November 3-10.

But this is still short of the first wave peak recorded on April 10 when there were 136 coronavirus patients admitted.

The proportion of patients seriously-ill in critical care wards is down compared to the first wave.

At its height on April 7 there were 27 patients in intensive care compared to nine yesterday.

The man in charge of the Covid-19 response in Kent and Medway, Wilf Williams, said: “As we did in the first wave, hospitals and the wider NHS are working together to respond to increasing levels of activity.

“Monday was a busy day for several hospitals and our ambulance service, which unfortunately meant that some patients waited longer than we would like.

“All emergency departments are adapting to reduced waiting capacity during the pandemic.

“Our services are open and we are here to treat and care for all patients.

"Patient safety and delivering the best care remains our top priority.

"Hospitals, South East Coast Ambulance service and wider partners across Kent and Medway are working tirelessly to manage the demand and minimise handover delays.”

Hospital bosses have reassured patients there are systems to isolate coronavirus and ensure routine treatments will continue.

At Medway, this includes temperature checks on arrival, mandatory face coverings for all visitors, staff, outpatients and inpatients, hand sanitising stations and special “green zones” which allows patients to be pre-screened before entering for their surgical procedure and restrictions in the use of waiting areas to allow social distancing.

Visiting wards has been banned across the hospital site with only exceptional circumstances allowing anyone not attending an appointment to enter the building.

Medway NHS Trust chief executive James Devine previously said the hospital is determined to protect staff and patients and "ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed in the coming months".

He added there have been "robust preparations" to manage winter pressures and spikes in Covid-19 patients and will be working with "partners across the health and social care system" to cope with increasing levels of demand.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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