Meeting ambulance targets

14 April 2010

This is GMB response to Yorkshire Ambulance Service failing to meet 8 minute government standard for immediately life threatening emergency calls.

At a meeting on Monday 12 th April with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) Chief Executive GMB called on YAS to ensure sufficient staff and vehicles are in place to make the necessary improvement s to meet the Department of Health's target that category A calls (defined as "immediately life threatening") should receive an emergency response at the scene of the incident within 8 minutes.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) had the second worst [out of 11] performance times in England in 2008/09 for reaching the scene of immediately life threatening calls. It is "failing" patients, according to the most recent figures available from the government's NHS performance indicators

All Ambulance Services in the country have a primary target time of 8 minutes to be at the scene of category A calls (defined as "immediately life threatening) and must reach a minimum of 75% of these calls in this time. There is a second target of getting a vehicle to transport the patient to the scene by 19 minutes

The figures in notes to editors below from the Department of Health show that Yorkshire Ambulance "failed" the Category A calls meeting the 8 minute standard and "underachieved" on the management of patients with cardiac arrest and "underachieved" on time to reperfusion for patients who have had a heart attack.

Jon Smith, GMB regional officer for paramedics, drivers and ambulance staff in Yorkshire Ambulance Service said, "Give us the staff and the vehicles to do the job and GMB members will give the people of Yorkshirethe 8 minute response. If you don't employ enough staff or have enough vehicles on the road then you cannot expect to get to life threatening emergencies within 8 minutes.

GMB have already exposed Yorkshire Ambulance as running the service with insufficient staff driving around in clapped out vehicles, these concerns are now borne out by government figures. The government's own latest figures show that YAS is failing the people of Yorkshire.

Our members are working their socks off, often on overtime to cover staff shortages, to get to the most life-threatening emergencies as quickly as possible but they can only do that if there are enough crews and vehicles on the road.

If paramedics, drivers and ambulance staff are to meet the government's 8 minute target time then the management of Yorkshire Ambulance will need to pull their finger out and have enough properly trained staff in place, with the vehicles to do this."

Notes:

YorkshireAmbulance Service NHS Trust

Category A calls meeting 8 minute standard Failed 69.44%

Category A calls meeting 19 minute standard Achieved 96.11%

Category B calls meeting 19 minute standard Underachieved 90.60%

Time to reperfusion for patients who have

had a heart attack Underachieved

Experience of patients Satisfactory

Management of asthma Achieved

Management of stroke and transient ischaemic attack Achieved

Management of acute myocardial infarction Achieved

Management of hypoglycaemic attacks Achieved

Management of patients with cardiac arrest Underachieved

NHS staff satisfaction Satisfactory

The Department of Health's primary target is that a minimum of 75% per cent of category A calls (defined as "immediately life-threatening") should receive an emergency response at the scene of the incident within eight minutes.

The Department of Health's have a second target that a minimum of 95% of category A calls (defined as "immediately life-threatening") that require transport should be met within 19 minutes of the request being made for a vehicle capable of transporting the patient.

NHS Ambulance Trusts- Category A calls meeting 8 minute standard

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 78.01%

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 76.03%

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75.69%

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75.55%

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75.40%

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75.15%

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 74.60%

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 74.31%

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust 72.63%

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 69.44%

Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 68.37%

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