19 Minute Target Scrapped
Friday 17th December 2010
GMB SHOCKED THAT GOVERNMENT
PLANS TO SCRAP 19 MINUTE AMBULANCE RESPONSE TIME
TARGET
Scrapping the 19 minute
target means that the ambulance service will now become
like the police service and people will just have to wait until
they turn up if they turn up at all
GMB, the union for ambulance staff,
commented on reports that tomorrow the Tory/Liberal Government will
announce that it is planning to scrap the 19 minute target for
ambulance response times.
Justin Bowden GMB National Officer for
the ambulance service said "This is an absolute disgrace. I
have to say I am shocked. It opens the way for cuts in the
service.
When people dial 999 for
medical help they should have some guarantees they will get it.
Scrapping the 19 minute target means that the ambulance
service will now become like the police service and people
will just have to wait until they turn up if they turn up at
all.
GMB members would like to
know why the Liberal party is doing nothing to stop the
Tories dismantling our public services.
There are concerns that
scrapping response targets are the thin end of the wedge
which will lead to a deterioration of the service if the
proposals for NHS reorganization in England, set out in a White
Paper by the Tory Liberal Government are also implemented. The
White Paper proposals will result in GPs being put in charge of
budgets and could lead to NHS Ambulance Trusts being starved of the
resources they need to meet performance targets to deliver a decent
service to patients.
The only way that
the annual 13 million emergency calls and urgent
patients' journeys can be responded to in time by ambulance
staff and paramedics so as to deliver a proper service to
patients, is with proper planning and with enough
resources that are well managed and efficiently deployed to meet
proper targets supported by the public."
End
Contact: Justin
Bowden 07710 631351 or GMB press office 07974 251 823 or 07921 289
880
Notes to Editors
The Department of
Health's primary target is that a minimum of 75% per cent of
category A calls (defined as "immediately life-threatening") should
receive an emergency response at the scene of the incident within
eight minutes. A category A call is for an immediately life
threatening emergency such as chest pain, breathing difficulties or
cardiac arrest.
The Department of Health's have a second target that a
minimum of 95% of category A calls (defined as "immediately
life-threatening") that require transport should be met within 19
minutes of the request being made for a vehicle capable of
transporting the patient.
Category B calls
include potentially serious calls which do not have immediate
concern for breathing and consciousness levels such as road traffic
collisions, abdominal pain and fits. This has the 19 minute
target.
These are the
national targets which have been credited with saving the lives of
2,000 heart attack patient each year since their introduction in
2001.
The final category
of ambulance calls is category C which has a locally defined target
that varies across the country. These calls are for non-life
threatening emergencies and would receive a non-blue light, or cold
response and include conditions such as simple falls, headaches
without worrying features and other minor ailments
The
categorisation is however not precise e.g. some cardiac arrests may
be categorised as C whereas many non life threatening cases are
categorised A. This reflects the difficulty in assessing clinical
priority from a telephone call which may also be from a third
party.