A third of ambulances delayed by over an hour at Wigan A&E

The problem is reflected nationally as ambulance handover times soared across England, with a health and social care think tank warning delays represent "a real safety risk for a lot of patients", and urged the Government to "think long term" to address the issue.

New NHS England figures show 34 per cent of ambulances arriving at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust’s (WWL) casualty department at Wigan Infirmary took more than an hour to hand over patients in the week to January 5.

It was up from 14 per cent the week before, and a rise from 21 per cent across the same period last year.

Meanwhile, across the country, 21 per cent of NHS handovers to hospitals took longer than an hour, an increase from 13 per cent the previous week and 16 per cent over the same period the year before.

Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at The King’s Fund, said ambulance handover delays "reflect pressures on the wider system", and warned of the risks they represent for patients.

She said: "It's a real safety risk for a lot of patients, particularly those on the back of ambulances as they could be some of the sickest patients we have in the system.

"So, for them to be waiting 30 minutes, hours or even longer, is a real safety concern, and probably quite scary as well."

She added longer ambulance handovers can also be "frustrating" for NHS staff who can wait hours with patients for them to be admitted instead of attending 999 calls.

Jefferies urged the Government to focus on a long term solution to ease hospital backlogs and increase space for acute patients and ambulances.

A College of Paramedics spokesperson said they were "very concerned" this winter would be "another extremely difficult one for patients and our members", and urged the Government to increase investment.

They said: "The increase in hospital handover delays risks patient harm, leading to an inability to reach patients in the community."

They called on the Government to "urgently address" issues faced by ambulance and emergency services, and to provide "desperately required and continued" investment.

National guidance says patients arriving at an emergency department by ambulance must be handed over to A&E staff within 15 minutes.

Just 26% of ambulance handovers across England met this guideline.

Meanwhile, at WWL’s A&E, only 22 per cent of ambulance handovers took 15 minutes or less last week.

An NHS spokesperson said there is "clearly much more still to do to reduce unacceptably long waits for patients in some areas of the country."

They added: "With increased demand and high bed occupancy in hospitals having a huge impact on handover times, NHS teams across the country are prioritising the sickest patients and doing all they can to prevent avoidable admissions."

They said emergency services staff are under immense pressure and have worked "tirelessly" to anticipate this busy winter.