PARAMEDICS are watching patients die because they cannot hand them over to hospital A&E departments quickly enough, according to new research.

Unison said a survey of almost 600 ambulance staff across Britain painted a “grim picture” of patients waiting hours in the back of ambulances, which the union warned was affecting their conditions.

In a report published ahead of Unison’s annual health conference, which opens in Liverpool today, the union said two-thirds of respondents believed patients’ health deteriorated during long waits.