An East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust rapid response vehicle (RRV).
Ambulance Watch: Watchdog finds service worsening in Norfolk with managers unable to explain why
Tom Bristow
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
7:53 AM
A health watchdog warned today that the performance of the ambulance service in Norfolk had deteriorated in the last six months - and said managers had no answers to explain the failings.
A report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) highlighted the shortcomings of the service stating that response times for emergency calls in Norfolk - categorised as A8 and A19 - had fallen by 4pc since September 2012.
The report said: “Managers were unable to give us sufficient explanation as to why performance had fallen.”
The CQC passed the ambulance service on four standards, but said improvements were needed in providing care, treatment and support that met people’s needs.
It stated: “People could not be assured they would receive care in a timely and effective manner.”
Inspectors also found that during their time in the ambulance’s communications centre a “high proportion” of ambulances which had been sent out on jobs were either stood down or rerouted to other calls.
Control room staff told the inspectors of an increase in the number of calls to the service which had risen by 9pc in 12 months.
Staff put the worsening response time performance down to a lack of staff to match the increase in calls and handover delays at hospitals.
Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said: “It is a sad day for the ambulance trust, as it fails on the key measure of response times with the impact on patients and staff. I am pleased that the good work on other issues has been recognised by CQC. As the first ambulance trust to be failed by CQC on these criteria, Board directors, including the chairman, really do have to ask themselves if this is the right time to continue or if they should step aside.”
“The problems didn’t arise overnight and it will take some time to fix but we cannot wait for a year.”
Denise Burke, chair of North Norfolk Labour Party, who led a campaign to improve ambulance response times, described the findings as “completely unacceptable”.
She said: “It is unbelievable that over a year since Labour activists raised concerns about response times in north Norfolk with the media that there still appears to have been no further progress at the Trust.
“We also believe that government MPs and health ministers should be held account too for imposing cuts on our ambulance service at a time when it is already struggling. Where is the Secretary of Health, Jeremy Hunt, while this is all happening? He should be taking urgent action.”
•There will be more on this story in tomorrow’s Eastern Daily Press.
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17 comments
I must just correct my previous comment re delayed ambulance staff. these staff were kept waiting to hand over their patients in AMU area NOT Dunston Ward. There were no beds available apparently.
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MIKEJ
Thursday, March 21, 2013
In the event of a major incident then Norfolk would appear to be in very serious trouble
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Claire Voyant
Thursday, March 21, 2013
What was Bacon's soundbite today, "lions led by donkeys" a brilliant self-portrait for himself and his ConDem chums who are the root cause of the probllem. No wonder they are encouraging us to blame the management!
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Police Commissioner ???
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
We just need managers who can actually manage correctly, as the ones there now do not appear to have a clue.
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mike smith
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I was in Dunston ward on Friday night and there was tywo St Johns ambulance johns ambulance staff awaiting to hand over a patient for at least one hour! In addition there was an two NHS ambulance staff awaiting a bed for over an hour so they could hand over their patients. How Can the Ambulance service perform properly with these delays on being available for calls.?
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MIKEJ
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Competent Managers required - good salary, great pension, retire early, no accountability - please see this week's Job section in the Eastern Daily Press.
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F G HOB
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
My Wife recently broke her leg (North Norfolk Area)- the result was a 5 and a half hour wait for an ambulance, which turned up from Sudbury in Suffolk (80 odd miles away) and it was a Private Company Ambulance. Best Use of resources, I dont think so. Time the management was held accountable and the Govt for cutting Our Ambulance Service
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Farquarson-Smythe
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Get rid of the diesel engines out of the ambulances and stick petrol V8's back in them. Some of these ambulances are so slow and heavy its ridiculous.
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ggj666
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Recently six new manageral post were created at the ambulance trust (SIX). Because the "calibure of seven of the applicants was so good" it has been decided to create seven (YES SEVEN !!!) posts". Jobs for the boys (and girls) !!!
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Rolf
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Perhaps one of the 60 non-medical managers at EEAST has a solution to the problem - more lease cars? How long will it take for the Health Secretary and our local MPs (speak up Norman - Keith doesn't seem to be doing much) to realise there isn't a sticking plaster solution - a few management limbs need amputation!
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JB
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A few weeks ago a person was knocked off their bike on a very busy B road in the south norfolk village I reside in. He layed in the middle of the road for one & a half hours. The ambulance eventually arrived from Waveney. We are 5 miles out of Norwich!
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bonny
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The hospital acute medical and surgical beds are all full in the region, Its not the fault of A+E or the number of ambulances, we need more acute and nursing home beds and better community care pronto.
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trelo
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Not surprised at all. An elderly neighbour of mine fell down outside one night before Xmas. It was freezing cold and the person she was with called 999 straight away. This is in North Norfolk. She laid on the ground for an hour. A paramedic came and said she needed an ambulance. That involved another 45 minute wait in the freezing cold. The ambulance driver told her he had come from the other side of Norwich and apologised for the delay and said he was the only free ambulance on that night. Whether that's true or not I don't know but I was shocked.
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samphirelover
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
How can it get worse? it can't, Ambulances lined up at the N&N, 17 in total, Ambulances not turning up hours after they have been called, no other emergency service is in this state of disarray. the NHS and the Ambulance service is a laughing stock.. then yesterday in the news an Ambulance called to a male who had broken his leg outside in cold weather and the crew didn't know where the hospital was.. !!! "Carry on Ambulance Service"
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Footyboy16
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
MPs are now calling for heads to roll at EEAST, but it's time they took responsibility for their cuts too.
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Jono
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I still think , if they have not already, they need to get computer modelling to work out the optimum number of proper ambulances needed to meet desired call out times, based on all the statistics of past call outs, length of time spent on each case, distances and journey times,hand over times, projected population rises and changes to the demography. The stats should also to include miss calls, where dispatchers have seriously underestimated the severity of a case . No good scratching heads about what they are doing wrong if they don't know what is absolutely necessary to cope. I wonder if the length of time paramedics spend stabilising patients before moving them to hospital is greater than in the lift and go asap days and is affecting the service.
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Daisy Roots
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
"......and said managers had no answers to explain the failings." Usless Managers then !. What are their qualifications then, or were they put in as a friend of a friend ?.
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"V"
Wednesday, March 20, 2013