Ambulance Services in Wales: January 2008
This statistical release summarises information about ambulance services provided by the NHS in Wales for January 2008.
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust manages all ambulance services in Wales, but data can be analysed by unitary authority area and service region. The trust is responsible for the emergency ambulance service and patient transport service throughout Wales.
Key facts:
•
there were just under 25,000 emergency calls, down 5.1% compared with January 2007;
•
58.9% of first responses to immediately life-threatening emergency (Category A) calls arrived within
8 minutes, 64.1% within 9 minutes and 68.7% within 10 minutes;
•
86.2% of Category A calls and 76.6% of Category B calls resulted in an ambulance arriving at the
scene within the target times;
•
79.0% of urgent journeys arrived not more than 15 minutes later than the requested arrival time.
In January, the percentage of emergency responses¹ arriving at the scene of an incident within 8 minutes ranged from 40.9% in Bridgend to 77.1% in Merthyr Tydfil. The Wales average was 58.9%.
¹ see notes on 'Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls' on page 4
This release and detailed figures are available on the Assembly’s interactive data dissemination service StatsWales:
www.statswales.wales.gov.uk
Chart 2
shows a drop of around 8 percentage points for all 3 measures in February 2007, followed by mprovement until April when the targets were achieved for the first time at all-Wales level. However, performance has dropped since, falling below the 60% target for the last 2 months.
Chart 3 shows the percentage of Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls resulting in anambulance able to transport a patient arriving at the scene within 14, 18 or 21 minutes (see notes). Data on the use of ambulances as a first responder is also included within this standard. Across Wales, 86.2% of Category A calls resulted in an ambulance arriving within the specified time in January 2008, falling short of the 95% standard; the 95% standard was achieved in North Wales.
Chart 4
shows the percentage of Category B calls resulting in an ambulance (able to transport a patient) arriving at the scene within 14, 18 or 21 minutes (see notes). Across Wales, in January 2008, 76.6% of Category B calls resulted in an ambulance arriving within the specified time.
Chart 5
shows the percentage of urgent journeys arriving not more than 15 minutes later than the
requested arrival time. Performance at all-Wales level remained under 70% in the year to July 2007 but,
following a review of the arrangements for handling urgent calls and planning journeys, performance
improved to almost 86% in September 2007. However, over the last four months, performance has
dropped in all regions with the all Wales figure down to 79.0% in January 2008.
NOTES
Organisation of Ambulance Divisions:
The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust has responsibility for ambulance services across the whole of Wales.
Service and Financial Framework targets for 2007/2008:
To attain and maintain a month on month all-Wales average performance of at least :
• 60% of first responses to Category A (immediately life threatening calls) arriving within 8 minutes.
• 70% of first responses to Category A (immediately life threatening calls) arriving within 9 minutes.
• 75% of first responses to Category A (immediately life threatening calls) arriving within 10 minutes.
Performance in all geographical areas needs to reflect continuous improvement in achieving the overall
target.
There are additional standards for response times for Category A calls (where the first response is not a fully equipped ambulance), Category B calls and urgent journeys:
• In those cases where the first response to a category A call is not a fully equipped ambulance, to follow up with such an ambulance to a level of 95% within 14, 18 or 21 minutes respectively in urban, rural or sparsely populated areas;
• To respond to all other emergency calls (Category B) to a level of 95% within 14, 18 or 21 minutes respectively in urban, rural or sparsely populated areas;
• For 95% of responses to doctors’ urgent calls to arrive no later than 15 minutes after the requested arrival time.
Emergency call
: An emergency call is recorded as one call per incident although the ambulance service may have received more than one call for an incident.
Priority of Journey:
Emergency
: An emergency journey is generally one made in response to a 999 call.
Category A (immediately life-threatening calls):
For these calls, an emergency response will be a fully equipped ambulance, a rapid response vehicle crewed by a paramedic equipped to provide treatment at the scene, or an approved first responder despatched by and accountable to the ambulance service. In those cases where the first response is not a fully equipped ambulance, such an ambulance will also be sent.
Category B (all other emergency calls):
For these calls, a fully equipped ambulance will be deployed.
Urgent
: This is used when an ambulance / transportation is ordered for patients by clinicians (doctors, dentists or midwives) on an urgent basis and a definite time limit is imposed, including: (a) maternity admissions not given emergency priority; or (b) admissions to a hospital bed (including day care admissions and inter-hospital transfers) for which the doctor has given a specified time e.g. within one hour. An urgent journey makes similar demands on the ambulance service to those made by an emergency journey, in that a vehicle and crew must be deployed quickly, although not necessarily immediately, to collect a patient perhaps seriously ill, on the advice of a doctor for admission to hospital.
Key Quality Information:
This release contains information on NHS ambulance service in Wales. Monthly data is collected from the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust at Unitary Authority level within 3 ambulance regions (North Wales, Central & West Wales and South East Wales).
Until September 2007, the data was collected quarterly on the KA34 Patient Transport Services return, but the data is now available monthly and this is the source of the data for this release.
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