PATIENTS being rushed to Worcester's new hospital by ambulance are having to wait up to two hours on trolleys before they are dealt with.

Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust has revealed paramedic crews are having to hang around at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital while patients are transferred.

The Government has released tough standards for hospital turnaround times, demanding ambulance crews transfer the patient and leave the hospital within 15 minutes.

But at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the past month more than 1,000 patients had to wait up to half-an-hour, 252 up to an hour, seven up to two hours and one for more than two hours.

Some 2,215 patients were delayed at A&E departments across Worcestershire and Herefordshire, nearly half the number of ambulance journeys.

The ambulance service is now demanding a contingency plan drawn up with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to curb waiting times.

Christine Forrester, non-executive director of the ambulance trust, said the waiting times were a worry.

"One accepts a certain degree of delay in terms of back-up, but when it starts to get to an hour I have real concerns," she said.

"Not only are we tying up our vehicles and crews, but it's the distress to the patient as they do not know what is happening."

Director of operations Steve McGuinness said patients were not kept in ambulances after arrival at hospital, but always had paramedics with them who tended to their every need.

When they arrive at hospital they would be assessed by a triage nurse, and would then be seen according to how urgent their need is.

He added the problem was not restricted to Worcester, as Hereford admissions and those across the region are also frequently delayed.