“Alarming” deterioration in ambulance performance
Ambulance response times in Wales got worse in January according to new Welsh Government statistics.
Wales-wide figures showed that just 69.4% of ambulances responded to ‘Red 1’ emergency calls within eight minutes – compared to 72.4% in December.
Meanwhile, the picture across Wales varied significantly with five out of seven local health boards recording a deterioration in performance.
The dip was most alarming in Cwm Taf Health Board and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg.
Shadow Health Minister, Darren Millar, said:
“This alarming decline in some parts of Wales is very worrying, and we need to know what the Welsh Labour Government is doing to ensure that patients in life-threatening situations receive a consistent, high quality, service wherever they live.
“Despite the hard work of NHS staff, our emergency departments are in crisis here in Wales, and this is clearly having a knock-on effect on our ambulance service.
“Early indications from Labour’s pilot scheme are that, ambulance response times remain inconsistent across Wales.
“The answer to sustained improvement in performance does not lie in the Labour approach of moving the goalposts and record breaking NHS budget cuts; instead we need to see extra investment in the Ambulance Service and our wider unscheduled care system.”
