Written question WQ97936
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenIndependent
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
What steps is the Welsh Government taking to support the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, given that previous ambulance targets were not met on time?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Welsh Government continues to support improvements in ambulance responsiveness through a range of actions, including:
• Major investment of more than £22m to upgrade the Welsh Ambulance Service fleet, including 142 new vehicles.
• The reform of the emergency ambulance performance framework with a new focus on service users with the greatest clinical need and clinical outcomes. I set out the need for change and the details of these changes in statements to the Senedd on 26 November 2024, 11 March and 9 December.
• Improving ambulance patient handover performance at hospital emergency departments to release ambulance capacity into communities. This resulted in tangible improvement in ambulance patient handover performance and ambulance responsiveness. It has included:
• New mandatory guidance for the NHS
• The establishment of a clinically-led taskforce and accelerated improvement events
• A ‘winter sprint’ fortnight focused on improving discharge practice to support timely ambulance patient handover