James Evans MS is pleased that the Welsh Labour Government are to review their time targets set for ambulances to reach the most life-threatening calls after the goal has not been hit since the summer of 2020.
The target response time for a ‘red’ call in Wales is eight minutes for 65% of calls. Figures released last week show this was reached for just 50.4% of calls in October 2024. Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeremy Miles MS told the Senedd yesterday (26/11) that the ‘appropriateness’ of the target will be reviewed.
James Evans MS said:
“The review of our Ambulance response times is long overdue. I hear from constituents daily who tell me of the nightmare they have had waiting for ambulances for loved ones. Everyone in Mid Wales knows that the eight-minute Red response time target is nigh on impossible in our area, especially when Powys Ambulances get pulled into the South Wales urban areas.
“The heart of the issue is the long waiting times outside A&E departments. Many constituents tell me of family and friends who have been stuck in the back of ambulances for over seven hours. Ambulance crews do an amazing job in difficult circumstances, but they are being let down by management and the Welsh Labour Government running the NHS in Wales. The handover processes at the hospitals also needs urgent review.
“I hope this review will throw some transparency and openness about the true state of our ambulance service. This is, after all, an emergency service. If there was a fire in your house, the fire service would not say ‘we can’t come due to unprecedented demand.’ Yet the Welsh Ambulance Service seem to say this on an all too frequent basis. We need improvements to help everyone – patients and frontline staff.”
