New NHS figures show one in eight patients nationally now have to wait more than an hour outside A&E, with some hospitals being told to treat people in corridors.
The figures also showed fifteen hospitals are responsible for almost half of all ambulance delays, as staff are being told to "buck up their ideas".
Chiefs are arguing that treating people in corridors is safer than leaving 999 callers waiting at home while emergency vehicles are backed up outside A&E.
In 13 hospitals, the average wait for patients to be moved from ambulance to A&E is now more than an hour this winter, with patients in Plymouth waiting four hours.
Ambulance chiefs tell hospitals to treat more patients in corridors in bid to slash wait times
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As the junior doctor strikes enter day two, chiefs say are making it harder to unclog hospitals by getting patients home for Christmas.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, who came under fire this week for calling junior doctors "doctors in training", is studying the figures closely after calling in heads of some of the worst performing hospitals this week to tell them to "buck up their ideas".
Figures released on Thursday show 30 per cent of patients across England waiting 30 minutes and 12 per cent waiting more than 60 minutes. The average wait is now more than 36 minutes.
The target time to hand over a patient from paramedics to hospital staff is 15 minutes, however delays of more than ten hours have been reported at some hospitals.
In 13 hospitals, the average wait for patients to be moved from ambulance to A&E is now more than an hour this winter
PA
President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Adrian Boyle said: "We absolutely recognise the societal and ethical need to free up ambulances. However, we worry about the harms, that long stays in emergency departments cause. The whole system is interconnected."
The fifteen hospital trusts responsible for almost half of ambulance delays are:
- University Hospitals Birmingham
- Gloucestershire Hospitals
- University Hospitals of North Midlands
- University Hospitals Plymouth
- Royal Cornwall Hospitals
- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals
- University Hospitals of Leicester
- North West Anglia
- Portsmouth Hospitals University
- Nottingham University Hospitals
- The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals
- University Hospitals of Derby and Burton
- York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals
- University Hospitals Dorset
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham
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National medical director of NHS England Sir Stephen Powis said: "High occupancy in our hospitals is deeply concerning as our hardworking staff juggle seasonal viruses and strikes going into Christmas."
A spokesperson from University Hospitals Birmingham told The Times: "As one of the largest trusts within the NHS, we have seen immense demand for urgent and emergency care, however significant ambulance delays persist.
"It is a priority for our hospitals to improve."
