Minutes:
Martin Dodd, Area Operations Manager (North Yorkshire),
Yorkshire Ambulance Service, attended the meeting to assist Members with their
discussion of ambulance response times in the area following details having
been considered at the June meeting of the Committee, which were recirculated
prior to this meeting.
He outlined the following:
·
He provided details as to how Category 1 and
Category 2 incidents were determined
·
The response time for a Category 1 incident was
7 minutes and Category 2, recently reset, was 30 minutes, as set by the
Government.
·
In North Yorkshire the Category 2 target was
being met with the current average being 26 minutes and 20 seconds.
·
Every effort was being made to improve current
response times.
Members highlighted the following:
·
Recent events, involving elderly members of the
public, had seen response times way in excess of those provided, with wait
times of between 3 and 5 hours plus experienced. The Member asked whether those
involved had been unlucky or whether the response times stated were inaccurate,
noting that there was an ambulance station nearby to where the incidents
occurred. In response Mr Dodd apologised for the delayed responses outlined and
requested the details so that he could investigate the specific circumstances.
He emphasised that North Yorkshire was a large geographical area and response
times were dependent upon where ambulances were deployed. There was also the
issue of Accident and Emergency departments being located out of the area which
added to the time taken for an ambulance response.
·
The challenges outlined were appreciated,
especially in relation to the out of area Accident and Emergency facilities and
it was asked whether neighbouring ambulance services were utilised to provide a
back up service, for example the North
East Ambulance Service, when delays were being experienced. In response
it was stated that this co-ordination of services took place on a daily basis
with reciprocal arrangements in place for peak periods. The back up services
for each ambulance area were a useful resource and were deployed effectively to
provide the most efficient service.
·
It was noted that back in the 1950s ambulance
response times to the Upper Dales were 4 hours and above, resulting in a local,
independent service being developed. This led to the provision of an ambulance
station at Bainbridge which remains in place now. The Member highlighted the
difficulties in recruiting to the station due to its rurality, although she
noted that an appointment had just been made, and
asked whether the recruitment issue affected the performance of the station. In
response it was stated that there was an issue in trying to recruit to rural
areas, but the recent appointment had relieved the issue to a certain extent
for the Bainbridge station. Every effort would be made to maximise the
recruitment to rural areas.
·
It was asked whether voluntary staff were
utilised to enhance the service provision. In response it was stated that the
Community First Voluntary Service was used to assist the service until an
ambulance was able to attend. A Member suggested that the use of the First
Responder service was used to reset the response times for ambulance services but he was assured that this was not the case, and
only the downgrading of an incident, triggered by an additional phone call to
the ambulance service, could create that.
·
A Member noted that the average response time
could be offset by very quick response times in urban areas. In response it was
stated that the overall average response time for the Constituency area was 26
minutes and 20 seconds, whereas for the whole of North Yorkshire and York that
was 34 minutes and 34 seconds. It was asked whether the range of response times
was available and it was stated that these would be
circulated to Members following the meeting.
Resolved
That Mr Dodd be thanked for his attendance at the Committee and his assistance with the discussion on this issue.