Addressing one of the NHS’s most visible pressures
Prolonged ambulance handover delays and corridor care have become defining challenges across the UK’s urgent and emergency care system.
Ambulances frequently arrive at emergency departments only to find there is no safe space to hand patients over. As a result, patients may remain in vehicles or be placed in corridors and temporary spaces while departments struggle to manage overwhelming demand.
This creates a damaging cycle:
Evidence highlights the scale of the problem. National data shows millions of ambulance handovers each year exceed safe time thresholds, contributing to delays in emergency response and avoidable harm.
At the same time, a significant proportion of ambulance arrivals do not require full emergency department care. Many patients require assessment, diagnostics and treatment, but could be managed safely in an alternative clinical setting.
Ambulance Relief Centres address this gap.
By creating a dedicated destination for suitable ambulance patients, ARCs:
Rather than adding temporary capacity inside already crowded hospitals, ARCs help prevent unnecessary congestion from entering the system in the first place.
