Ulster Unionist health spokesperson, Roy Beggs MLA, has warned that the continuing deterioration in ambulance response times is putting patient lives at risk.
His warning came after he discovered that in the last year only 37% of the most urgent and life-threatening ambulance calls were responded to locally within 8 minutes, far below the official target of 72.5%.
Roy Beggs said:
“I am extremely concerned that patients’ lives are being placed at risk as a result of rapidly deteriorating ambulance response times.
“The importance of ambulances and paramedics arriving on time cannot be emphasised enough. The longer someone has to wait for assistance in a life-threatening emergency, the greater the risk there is of them coming to serious harm.
“The Ambulance Service itself describes Category A calls as ‘the most serious calls, where there is, potentially, an immediate threat to life.’
“It is outrageous therefore, that whilst the official target is that 72.5% should be responded to within 8 minutes, over the last year across Northern Ireland only 37% of these urgent calls were met within this time. In the South Eastern Health Trust area the figure was at the alarming level of only 31%.
“This is a major breach of a target that was primarily put in place to protect patient safety.
“The figure has been steadily falling for each of the past 7 years and it now falls far short of the overall 68% performance that were being achieved in 2012/13.
“That is simply outrageous and falls far below the safe and sustainable standard that people should expect. Whilst patients are suffering, it’s also completely unfair to be putting our paramedics in this situation.
“With an ageing population the demands being placed on our Ambulance Service are constantly growing. It is the increasing demand for emergency ambulance services which is driving the difficulties on the NIAS to deliver against the 8-minute Category A response standard.
“Whilst I am aware that the NIAS is planning to introduce a revised Clinical Response Model, they are also proposing the removal of almost half of the single paramedic rapid response cars. These cars are essential in responding to incidents when ambulances may not have been available. I hope that no such reduction will take place until the additional ambulances and crews are available
“In the meantime however, given the trends, I fear that we are destined to see even worse ambulance response times in the coming months. Such a situation would simply not be tolerated anywhere else in the United Kingdom – just like a whole range of our other current health waiting times - so it shouldn’t be tolerated here. I have asked to meet the Ambulance Service to better understand what has happen over recent years and to seek assurances that vacancies are being filled and that hard pressed staff who are trying to provide a service are being supported."