Ambulance Response Times: "We face a perfect storm"

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 2nd Sep 2009

Michael German discusses issues facing the Ambulance Service with paramedic

The latest monthly statistics on ambulance response times for South East Wales has led a senior member of the National Assembly for Wales to describe coming winter months as likely to be "facing a perfect storm."

Michael German AM made his stark warning after the release of the figures for July showing that South East Wales had failed to met the all-Wales target of attending emergency scenes within eight minutes.

The target for Wales is 65% per cent; in South East Wales the performance was 60 per cent.

However, when looking at the performance by local authority, several areas had a poor performance: in Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouthshire came out with the worst and second worst performance respectively.

In Torfaen only 4 out of ten emergencies were responded to within eight minutes; Monmouthshire achieved 47 per cent and in Newport just over half the calls were responded to within the target at 53 per cent.

Lib Dem Mr. German said that the persistent poor performance in Torfaen, Monmouthshire and Newport was becoming 'completely unacceptable'. "The Minister for Health is running out of words to say what she needs to do to ensure people in Gwent have a reliable ambulance response service. I am continually getting complaints and stories from constituents about ambulances arriving very late and some hours after a 999 call.

Mr. German was keen to praise paramedics and front-line staff: "They are doing an incredible job in public service: they save lives. They are doing what they can. However, the Welsh Government has got to get a handle on the situation very quickly. It takes time to recruit and train new people."

Speaking about known trends through the year Mr. German added: "These figures are usually seen in the middle of the winter months at the time of greatest pressure. Results like these in a July should start ringing the alarm bells for the Labour-Plaid Welsh Government.

"There are several 'pinch points' causing the problem here: we know ambulances sometimes get held-up at the Royal Gwent for several hours at Accident & Emergency; we know that the Ambulance Trust has a shortfall front line frontline staff. Now they are recruiting and training new people, but still, we will not have a full front line of frontline ambulance people to face the challenge of the winter months."

"We're facing a perfect storm: the coming flu season, a possible second wave of Swine Flu infections and a rapidly failing ambulance service response to emergencies. I fear will we see Wales' ambulances stacked up at hospitals like the Royal Gwent Hospital with no where to go and no one able to attend to an emergency.

"The Welsh Assembly Government needs to act now and ensure without delay the necessary funding and staffing levels. I will be asking the Health Minister some very serious questions about the urgent need to ensure we fund the vital front-line emergency public service we all rely upon."