LOCAL MP David Davies has today met with senior management from the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to discuss poor emergency response times in Monmouthshire.
Mr Davies raised a number of cases with Chief Executive Elwyn Price-Morris, Chairman Stuart Fletcher and Acting Regional Director for South East Wales Richard Lee. As well as discussing failings which may have contributed to the death of Monmouth woman Jacqueline Davies in January 2011, Mr Davies questioned why Zoe Croudace’s five-month old son Corey Marx had to wait more than double the target response time for an ambulance after he stopped breathing at his home in Monmouth last month.
“There have been a number of very unsatisfactory cases recently involving ambulance response times, particularly in the Monmouth area, and people are understandably worried,” said Mr Davies.
“I had a useful meeting with management and we discussed these specific cases and why response times are bad. The Trust has been honest enough to admit to mistakes and it has been putting in improvements to its services.
“Although there is not going to be a dedicated ambulance for Monmouth and Chepstow, each town will have a dedicated paramedic and rapid response vehicle. These paramedics are highly trained and will be able to initiate medical procedures in an emergency. If patients need transporting to hospital, then an ambulance will arrive. The Trust is still aiming to respond within the target time of eight minutes, although an ambulance is not going to be ring-fenced.
“The rapid response vehicle called in the case of Jacqueline Davies was slow to arrive for various reasons, including the fact it had not been properly charged up. There was a nine minute delay as a result. I have been assured this will not happen again because of procedural changes in charging vehicles.
“We also discussed plans to ensure the ambulance station in Monmouth, which is currently closed, is replaced with other facilities and I believe there will be more news forthcoming on this very shortly.
“There are also going to be better cross-border arrangements with Ambulance Trusts in England to ensure that if an English ambulance is closest to an emergency in Wales, it can be utilised. I’m mystified as to why this should pose difficulties in the first place as we are supposed to have a national health service covering the whole of the UK, but that’s another story.
“I’m aware myself that people have a responsibility not to dial 999 unless absolutely necessary. From my own experience having gone out with ambulance crews, I can vouch for the fact this is a problem. The Trust is exploring ways to work with its local health board partners to try and ensure people with minor injuries are treated by specialist medical staff without the need to be transported to A&E and I look forward to progress in this area.
“I remain disappointed that response times in Monmouthshire are well below the average for the rest of Wales, although the target of getting an ambulance or paramedic to a 999 call within eight minutes 65 per cent of the time is being met. Interestingly, the English target is 75 per cent – ten per cent higher than Wales.
“Another issue we raised and one which I have discussed before with ambulance staff is that hospitals themselves are not accepting patients quickly enough. Given the limited number of ambulances in the Gwent area, if the hospital turnaround times are slow then this will have an impact on the service people receive.
“Overall, this is without a doubt one of the most important issues affecting Monmouthshire and we are clearly not getting the service we deserve. I’m glad the problem is being recognised to an extent by the Ambulance Trust and I shall be meeting again with representatives in Monmouth in February to discuss the progress that has been made.
“In the meantime, I would invite any constituents who have experienced poor service to contact me directly as I will continue to take up individual complaints with the Trust.""