Big drop in Flintshire Ambulance response times as targets are missed again
October’s Ambulance service performance figures show response times in Flintshire for category A’ incidents, those deemed to be life threatening have once again slipped back to being one of the worst in Wales.
In October 669 ‘category A’ calls required an emergency response in Flintshire, 355 missed the 8 minutes target time set by NHS Wales
Just 46.9% of those in urgent need of an ambulance received one within eight minutes.
The Ambulance service appeared to making some headway in Flintshire with August and September seeing two months of improvement however, October has put paid to that with a drop in performance of 6.1%
Nine calls classed as ‘category A’ incidents, those deemed to be life threatening, took 30 minutes or more to arrive on scene, 22 minutes longer the the within the 8 minutes target time set by NHS Wales
Flintshire had the worst performing region out of the six area’s within the Betsi Cadwaladr health board region, Neighbouring Wrexham (69%) was once again the top performer in Wales for October 2014
Overall ambulance response times in October 2014 deteriorated by 10% compared with the same period last year.
The 8 minute time target of 65% for life-threatening calls is the lowest in the UK but has been met only once in the past two and a half years.
Just 55.5% of ambulances responded to immediately life-threatening calls within eight minutes in October 2014 compared to 58.9% the previous month.
In October 2013 65.2% of ambulances responded within the target times.
Darren Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health, said,
“Despite the tireless hardwork of paramedics and other ambulance staff, patients are not receiving the rapid medical response they need in life-threatening emergencies.
“Wales has the lowest target in the UK for urgent ambulance call-outs, yet this has been met only once in the past 30 months – it’s a disgrace.
“This 10% deterioration in ambulance service performance in the past year together with the NHS’ worst sickness rates is a serious concern and shows the pressure Labour’s record-breaking NHS budget cuts are heaping on an already demoralised workforce.
“Welsh Ministers must act urgently to address the crisis in our wider unscheduled care system which is contributing to this poor performance.
“With winter pressures on their way, there is little prospect for any significant improvement in the coming months.”
