Cheshire slowest for 999 paramedic ambulance times

Cheshire has the longest wait for life-threatening 999 rapid response paramedics in the North West.

Figures for rapid response time to 999 calls show Cheshire the worst in the region with only 73.5% of callouts hitting the eight-minute target for life-threatening emergencies, failing to reach the national target of 75%

Figures are contained in a North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust draft report of its Quality Account for 2012/2013 due to go before Cheshire East council later this week.

Although the Trust hit 999 response targets for the North West overall, it was only because poor performance in Cheshire and Cumbria was outweighed by faster than average response times in other parts of the region.

The national target of eight minutes for life-threatening emergencies (Red 1 and Red 2) was met in 76.8% of calls across the whole of the North West against a national target of 75% and a national average of 75.5%.

And the 19-minute target to get an ambulance to the scene was met in 95.1% of cases in the North West, lower than the national average of 96% but just over the national target of 95%.

But there was a large variation between areas, with 79.8% of calls answered within eight minutes on Merseyside and 78.5% in Lancashire but only 74.9% in Cumbria and just 73.5% in Cheshire, the lowest overall.

The report points out that response times must be seen against a background of "very high increases in activity. 999 activity was 4.5% above planned levels with a high preponderance of Red 1 & 2 calls which were 8.7% up on previous years."

And the report pledges to improve matters in the future saying "a key aspect of this work will be the further development of its use of complementary resources such as Community First Responder and Staff Responder schemes."

In the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Quality Accounts report acting chief executive, Bob Williams, sets out the Trust's quality delivery over the past year and priorities for the year ahead.

Headline successes last year include implementing 95% of priorities agreed in February 2012 and meeting all the national operational response time targets.

The service is particularly proud of its Paramedic Pathfinder initiative which boosts training for paramedics, giving them the clinical skills to treat over 45,000 patients at home last year and cutting trips to hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments by up to 24%.

Another national initiative that takes the load off A&E departments has been the establishment of a limited number of Major Trauma Centres staffed by advanced paramedics.

And there has been a major shift in the care of terminally ill patients with more now able die at home rather than in hospital. A rapid discharge initiative with 38 hospital trusts and 10 hospices meant of the 543 requests to take patients home to die 87% were responded to within two hours.

The report says the number of complaints against the Trust rose last year but attributes this to increased activity, particularly in paramedic services.

The Trust received 474 complaints, up from 386 in 2012. But compliments on the service were also up on last year, from 803 to 819 according to the report.

Failure to report delays in patient transfer services was the most common cause of complaint although this number was significantly lower than in previous years.

The Trust sets out four key areas for quality improvements next year. They are to improve treatment of people involved in falls without attendance at A&E or admission to hospital; to cut waiting times for ambulance transfers; to implement a new performance indicator for dealing with patients suffering lower limb fractures and for improving care for patients with mental health issues.

The draft Quality Accounts for the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust is to go before Cheshire East's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee later this week.

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