Ambulance response time targets have been missed again in Caerphilly County Borough, latest statistics reveal.
In July this year, Caerphilly had the third worst ambulance response times in the whole of Wales with 55.8% of ambulances arriving within the eight minute target time.
The target number of ambulances responding to urgent 999 calls, classed as ‘Category A’, within the eight minutes is 65%. The national figure was 60.7% – down from 62.6% in June.
Caerphilly’s figure of 55.8% is an improvement on June’s figure of 52.1% when the county borough was ranked as having the worst response times in Wales.
Nationally, the 65% target was missed for the 14th consecutive month.
Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East Lindsay Whittle said the figures were “no longer a surprise”.
He said: “What is concerning is that there is no sign of improvement. A few months ago the performance, whilst still below the standards expected, appeared to be at least improving in some parts of Wales.
“However the latest statistics demonstrate that these improvements were merely blips and have not been sustained. The service shows no sign of being able to meet its targets, which are already set at a lower level than in England, and many people throughout Wales are going to wondering why the Welsh Government’s continues to push through plans that will require ambulances to travel further in emergency situations.”
The Conservative Shadow Minister for Health Darren Millar AM said: “The Welsh Labour ministers who run our health service should be ashamed.
“Not only has the life-threatening response target been missed for a 14th consecutive month, but performance has actually dropped – laying bare the on-going chaos facing a Labour-run NHS dogged by record-breaking budget cuts.
“The First Minister’s plans to downgrade A and E units across Wales and axe more hospital beds will increase travel times and make the problem worse. Confidence in our health service is already at rock-bottom – and none of this will do anything to ease the worries of communities.
“Labour’s health minister has talked of some action following the latest ambulance service review. I will be working with him to make sure the changes are effective – and implemented as soon as possible.”
This is a Welsh Assembly failure. But why does it come as no surprise to anyone that it is the case, i.e. in Caerphilly, just over half of all those people requiring an ambulance it arrived in a timely period.
This is NOT the fault of those who man these ambulances, it is yet another problem with the Welsh Health Service, someone does really need to get a grip of it, how difficult can it be to logistically manage a fleet of vehicles so that that fleet covers the whole of Wales, and, that vehicles are strategically located to meet the needs of Welsh Citizens as and when required, it can been seen day after day that ambulances are delayed outside Hospitals as a result of overworked and overstretched, hardworking hospital staff who are also not able to cope in a timely manner with the situation they are confronted with today.
Someone, in the Welsh Assembly, needs to get a serious grip of this situation, I for one would rather have an efficient and reliable Health service in Wales, than own an Airport for instance, or, subsidise an inflated underused airline flying from Cardiff to North Wales, or, subsidising cheap food and drink for Assembly Members, and jaunts to this or that location chasing the sun at our expense.
The Welsh Assembly needs a reality check, the Auditor General for Wales should be forced to take a very close look at all the items the Assembly prioritise, and, undertake a forensic level audit of its spending policies, it should then publish the results of such an audit so that we, the people who pay for it all, can properly judge if our money is being spent, at the levels we want it to be spent, in the places we want it spent, and publish the results six months prior to the next election for Welsh Assembly Members.
This situation will be made worse by the 'South Wales Plan' as four accident and emergency units for the whole of South Wales will inevitably mean ambulances are on longer journeys for each casualty.
I am not impressed with the management of the local health trusts who seem more interested in 'spinning' in an attempt to hoodwink the public into believing there is "no alternative" rather than addesssing the consequences of their sub-standard management.
We need greater use of doctor's surgeries for minor injuries, cover beyond office hours (doctors are paid handsomely after all) to take the pressure off A & E. The A & E departments themselves need to be in greater numbers than planned. The most vital element in the survival of trauma, stroke, heart attack, etc is fast treatment. The most advanced equipment, concentrated in just four hospitals, is of no use if the patient dies in transit or whilst waiting for an ambulance.