Statement in response to November 2019’s performance figures
19th December 2019
Jason Killens, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Chief Executive, said: “We had more than 40,300 calls via 999 in November, which is 2,000 more than last November.
“While we are disappointed not to have achieved our target in November, the average response to a Red call was six minutes and 39 seconds, and we reached 73 per cent of these calls in ten minutes.
“That said, we accept that a wait for help can feel much longer to someone in distress and we apologise to anyone who waited longer than they should have.
“An increase in high-priority calls, coupled with significant hospital handover delays, were the main reasons we missed our target for the first time since October 2015.
“This inevitably has a knock-on effect to the length of time people have to wait for our care.
“Pressures are being felt across the whole system, not just in Wales but nationally, and we continue to work with health boards to find ways to release our ambulances quickly and support the discharge of patients, freeing up more beds.
“We’re also doing lots of work to provide care closer to patients’ homes and prevent hospital admissions in the first place, by upskilling our staff and working with partners to ensure we can point patients to alternative services if they don’t require a trip to hospital.
“We will always aim to get to those patients whose condition is life-threatening or very urgent first and as soon as we can.
“It’s important that people use the right service for them and don’t immediately turn to 999 or the Emergency Department.
“NHS Direct Wales, 111, or your local pharmacy is always a good place to start.
https://www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk/D...id=1604&lan=en
