Welsh Ambulance Service on January 2017’s performance figures
Richard Lee, Director of Operations for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “While January was a challenging month for organisations throughout NHS Wales, we’re pleased to note that we reached 75.4 per cent of RED calls within eight minutes.
“These are patients whose lives are in immediate danger so it’s important that we provide a timely response. On average we reached them within four minutes and 55 seconds during this period.
“I would like to thank our staff in our contact centres, out in ambulances and response cars as well as our volunteer responders and co-responders and specialist teams such as our falls teams. Together we are delivering a very different range of services to our patients.
“January was a busy month across the NHS and whilst we responded effectively to our red calls I am aware that some patients with less serious conditions waited longer than we would like for help to arrive. We continue to work hard to ensure that all patients receive an effective response.
“We also want to make sure that people with less serious conditions are receiving the most appropriate care for their needs and in January our secondary triage team provided alternatives to an ambulance for more than 1,800 patients.
“You can help us get to those who need us most by only dialling 999 in a real emergency.
“If you’re feeling unwell and are unsure what to do, NHS Direct Wales is available 24 hours a day by calling 0845 46 47 or if you live in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg area you can use the 111 service.
“There’s also your pharmacist, GP, GP Out of Hours Service, optician and Minor Injuries Unit, where there is no need for an appointment. The NHS Direct Wales website also has a whole host of online symptom checkers which can offer advice on common health problems.”
Notes to Editors: There were 1,980 RED emergency incidents in January. We reached 75.4% of RED calls within eight minutes, 80.4% within nine minutes and 84.8% within 10 minutes.
You can view the data in full by visiting the Welsh Government’s StatsWales website.
Keep abreast of news and updates by following the Welsh Ambulance Service on Twitter @WelshAmbulance and on Facebook: Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust.
