DELAYS facing ambulances handing over patients at Royal Blackburn Hospital have soared over the Christmas period.

Damning figures show there were 183 ambulance handover delays of half an hour to sixty minutes and 35 of one hour and more at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust in the week between December 24 and December 30.

That compares to 134 ambulance handover delays of half an hour to sixty minutes and 16 of one hour and more at the trust between December 3 and December 9.

Data has emerged in NHS England's weekly winter reports in a sign of the growing winter pressures on the health service.

Ambulance crews are meant to be able to handover patients to A&E staff within 15 minutes of arrival.

Figures also show that 91.55 per cent of beds were occupied at the trust between December 24 and December 30.

That figure is a decrease from 94.74 per cent between December 3 and December 9.

Anything above 85 per cent is considered unsafe.

John Bannister, director of operations for the trust, has said previously that due to the number of ill patients the trust receives during the winter, ambulance attendances increase.

He said: "As a result, handover times are on average eight to ten minutes longer than during the summer; however we are working closely in partnership with North West Ambulance Service to reduce handover times.

“At our busiest times, we need the support of the local community and they should really think about which NHS service is most appropriate for them – local pharmacy, GP Practices, or the Minor Injury Units at Rossendale and Accrington. In some cases, self-care would be the most suitable course of action."

"If patients are unsure what treatment they need, then they can call 111 for immediate medical advice."