Not enough resources to meet demand – just 21 ambulances cover entire of Cheshire West and Chester

Ambulance services are under-resourced in Cheshire West and Chester with 21 vehicles covering the entire borough, councillors have been told.

Members of the council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee were told the service had seen unprecedented demand during the Covid pandemic, with 999 calls once again on the rise as cases continue to increase.

Delivering a presentation to members, Roger Jones, head of emergency services Cheshire and Merseyside Area at North West Ambulance Service, said there had been 216,662 calls to the service in Cheshire West and Chester between April last year and March 14 this year.

There had been:

• 126,250 incidents
• 1,446 people treated over the phone
• 23,000 people treated at the scene
• 51,000 people taken to various health facilities

Councillors were told there were currently 21 ambulances in Cheshire West and Chester and four response cars.

There are also 18 active community first responders with seven going through the recruitment process. There are currently 30 military personnel assisting until end of this month.

Mr Jones said it had been the busiest period in his 35-year career, with calls over 30 per cent higher than normal peak times. He admitted that there were times the service was stretched, with a hub being set up so clinical staff could call people who had been waiting for an ambulance to provide medical advice.

He said: “There were times when demand far outstripped our resources in order to respond.

“We’re aware sometimes this didn’t meet public expectation. When you ring 999 there’s the expectation that you’ll get an ambulance response, but it’s been identified through research that a significant number of patients who access us can be safely managed through other means.”

He said 999 demand had reduced since January but had started to increase again over the last month to 10-20 per cent above what would normally be expected at this time of year.

Committee member and Malpas Cllr Rachel Williams (Cons) asked: “What determines the number of ambulances and response cars that you actually have? Do you feel that you need any more?

“Is there any future buying of new vehicles. If so, is there any consideration of electric vehicles?”

Mr Jones said the service had been found to be under resourced and that was ‘being looked at’.

He replied: “We have had an external review of our resource levels against our activity. This looked at activity before Covid 19 and during the last recovery phase as well, it’s been identified that we are a service that’s under-resourced at this time.”

via the BBC LDRS