Written question WQ95425

Our NHS planning framework and the integrated medium term planning process are very clear. We expect health boards and NHS trusts to describe how seasonal pressures will be managed through their plans, enabling a year-round approach to match capacity with demand.

Delivery of these plans is supported by additional and targeted funding and the national Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care programme. This is focused on delivering key policy priorities for:

• Safely supporting people with urgent and often complex needs to safely remain in their local communities;

• Safe avoidance of emergency departments and admission to hospital; and

• Improvement of timeliness of discharge through increasing social care capacity.

Achievement of these objectives should also help to improve the availability of ambulances to support timely responses to people in need of an ambulance response in the community.

I am concerned about the level of ambulance handover delays across Wales and the impact these have on ambulance service resources, which are clearly unacceptable. I have been clear with health boards about my expectation for improvement in the timeliness of ambulance handovers to ensure crews are released to respond to other 999 calls in the community.

Reducing these is a key priority for all health boards in Wales as set out in the NHS Wales Planning Framework, and features as part of health board chairs’ objectives. The Welsh Government has also published new ambulance handover guidance and commissioned an NHS Executive audit of compliance with the guidance.