To receive an update in relation to the operation of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust.
Minutes:
Members welcomed Heather Ransom – Ambulance Operations Manager and Dave Watkins – Locality Manager to the meeting to provide an update in relation to the operation of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust. During discussion particular reference was made to:
a. Local Engagement – moving forward there would be a strong focus on local/community engagement. Heather would welcome communities engaging with the service in order to shape services around community needs as opposed to imposing services. Heather would welcome visiting communities in order to engage better
b. Service Delivery – the service had been reshaped nationally. There are five areas of service delivery that would deliver the care model (Help Me Choose, Answer My Call, Come to See Me, Give Me Treatment and Take Me To)
c. Right Response – the above service review would deliver the right response to the right situation
d. Paramedics – there had been an upskill to paramedic positons in order that they are now able to discharge from care without the need to admit if the situation allows for it. There would be a pilot in the Montgomeryshire area
e. Call Outs/ Performance - the true position is that there are two ‘red’ calls to the emergency service per day. Red calls are calls where there are immediate life threatening situations i.e. risk of death. The target response time for red calls is 8 minutes, there are some difficulties in Powys in meeting this target due to rurality. Amber calls are split into two categories (1 and 2), the majority of calls to the service in Powys are amber 1 calls. WAST performs well against the 19 minute amber 1 target time for attending (despite rumours to the contrary)
f. Demand – the change in focus to deliver the right response to the situation had reduced the number of 999 call outs to 60 calls per day (prior to the change there were up to 400 emergency calls made per day)
g. Resource – Powys is resourced at the right level to meet need (ambulances, cars and rapid response vehicles are located in key sites). Each ambulance call out would remove a vehicle from operations for around three hours
h. Locality Teams – there are two Powys locality teams, one covering Brecknockshire and Radnorshire, the other Montgomeryshire
i. Community Schemes – there would be a strong emphasis on community based schemes, ideas include community based ambassadors. It could be that communities identify locals to provide initial, emergency, lifesaving support to complement the service
j. Highway Clearances – during inclement weather the local authority would focus on keeping open routes if they were deemed needed for medical situations. There are good relationships between the service and local authority
k. St. John’s Ambulance – there are good links with St. John’s and when appropriate St. John’s help with local medical situations
l. Cross Border Collaboration – despite rumours to the contrary relationships across country borders are good and there should be no difference in terms of treatments given due to nationality (allowing for policy differences)
m. Complaints – the service welcomes those waiting to raise issues to use the complaints procedure in order that areas for learning can be identified. The complaints system has been branded ‘Putting Things Right’
Members welcomed the update and discussion and thanked representatives from WAST for attending. It was agreed to provide a link to the presentation in order that members could access it.