AM Welcomes new action on ambulance handover times

Rebecca Evans AM, Assembly Member for Gower, has welcomed new action to tackle ambulance handover times at Morriston Hospital.
 
Across Wales, the ambulance service has surpassed its response time target every month since October 2015 for the most serious “red” calls, with patients who are immediately life threatened receiving a response in an average of around five minutes.
 
The most recently published median response time for “amber” calls – those with serious but not life threatening injuries or conditions – was under 28 minutes.
 
“This is a real testament to the professionalism and dedication of our Welsh Ambulance Service staff,” says Rebecca Evans AM.
 
“However,” she adds, “whilst most people receive a good service, I sometimes see people at my advice surgeries who have experienced waits which are simply unacceptable, and which fall short of the service that we would want.
 
“I am pleased that the Welsh Government has recognised that there are continued challenges caused by ambulance patient handover delays at Morriston Hospital, and is putting in place new actions to address this.”
 
Speaking in the Senedd, the Health Minister said: “I have directed the Chief Ambulance Services Commissioner to place immediate and targeted focus on achieving improvements at this site.  A series of new actions have been agreed with local clinical teams. These innovations are being delivered alongside broader, whole system actions in the area to improve community care and enable people to leave hospital when they are ready. We will monitor the situation closely.”