Ambulance service has improved response times, claims WAG

30 Jul 09
The Welsh Assembly Government has insisted the ambulance service in Wales has improved its response times following criticisms from AMs
By Paul Dicken

30 July 2009

The Welsh Assembly Government has insisted the ambulance service in Wales has improved its response times following criticisms from AMs.

A WAG spokeswoman said the figures for May 2009 showed the service was responding to 66.5% of life-threatening emergencies within eight minutes, an improvement on the 47.6% reported last December.

But National Assembly audit committee chair Jonathan Morgan said that, despite two reports since 2006, the committee was ‘not convinced that progress is being made and remains unhappy with unscheduled care provision’.

The Ambulance Services in Wales inquiry report, published on July 27, found that the dip in response times in December was ‘partly due to a reduction in numbers of frontline staff in order to make required efficiency savings of £17m a year’ and a 90% increase in hours lost due to delays in handing over to accident and emergency departments.

The committee recommended better management of seasonal variations. It also called on the WAG to examine studies that focused on clinical outcomes.

The WAG spokeswoman said new technology was being introduced and a National Task and Finish Group had been set up to improve the hospital handover process.

She added: ‘The public must play their part too in helping to reduce pressure on the services by considering whether they need to call an ambulance.’

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