Health

Scale of ‘devastating ambulance waits’ across Wales revealed in latest figures

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2022

OVER 10,000 people with serious conditions are waiting over an hour for an ambulance in Wales.

In figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives, it was found 3,351 people that rang an ambulance and were designated amber in April had to wait over four hours for it to arrive.

According to monthly Welsh Government statistics, a staggering two-thirds (67.1% or 10,157) of amber ambulances took over an hour to reach their patient, but it took a written question from the Leader of the Opposition to find out exactly how long people had to wait.

Ambulances waiting to unload outside Withybush Hospital (Pic: Herald)

The information uncovered that 344 people waited over 12 hours. 14 waited over a day for an amber call to be reached, half of which were in North Wales.

Calls for ambulances are triaged into red, amber, and green calls. Red calls are life-threatening but serious conditions like strokes are classified as amber by the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay.

Three red-calls also took over an hour to reach their patient in April, two in Dyfed and one in the Swansea Bay health board area.

Only 51% of responses to immediately life-threatening calls arrived within eight minutes, down from 61% in April 2021. The target of 65% of red-calls reaching their patient within eight minutes has not been reached in over 18 months.

It follows news of dozens of incidents when police cars had to be deployed as ambulances.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said: “It is scandalous how long people have to wait for ambulance in Wales, no matter how serious the emergency – if you’re in need of one, your problem needs urgent attention.

“I cannot imagine the anguish people feel as they or a loved one are left languishing in pain because Labour’s mismanagement of the NHS has turned ambulance provision into a postcode lottery.

“We know that ambulance delays are down to them getting stuck at A&E departments, full and slow-moving because of issues in accessing other parts of the NHS.

“That’s why Labour need a plan to ensure people come to hospital as a last resort, not because they have no confidence in or access to other parts of the health service.”

Andrew RT Davies MS, the Welsh Conservative leader who submitted the question, added: “These waits are very concerning, more so because we had to dig them up because ministers do not routinely publish them.

“We know the pandemic has hit all aspects of the NHS hard, but we know that the NHS under Labour has been in dire straits for a long time and ambulance waits have been going downhill for a while.

“As I told the First Minister back in March, he has failed to plan for the end of Army assistance in the ambulance service and now patients and paramedics are paying the price.”

Responding to the publication of Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch’s Interim Bulletin Harm caused by delays in transferring patients to the right place of care, Dr Henderson said: “It is well-known among health care professionals, especially the Paramedicine and Emergency Medicine workforce, that ambulance handover delays cause serious harm to patients. Instances of ambulance handover delays became a frequent and serious threat in late 2020 and early 2021 and in response to this rising threat The College published Ambulance Handover Delays: Options Appraisal. In November 2021, The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published their report Delayed hospital handovers: Impact assessment of patient harm which found that these delays were leading to an unacceptable level of patient harm and presented a serious risk.

“We welcome the HSIB interim bulletin and its safety recommendations, we urge the Department of Health and Social Care to prioritise and urgently act on these recommendations. The situation continues to worsen, and it is highly detrimental to patient safety, to paramedic and EM staff, and public confidence in the emergency care services. Critically, the Urgent and Emergency Care system is failing to function as it should, we must do all we can to change that.”

Figures released recenerly show that in last month only half (51.2%) of red ambulance calls were met within the target time across Wales. In some areas such as Hywel Dda Health Board it is as low as 39%.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Government to address waiting times for primary care services to relieve the pressure on A&E.

Commenting Jane Dodds MS said: “This simply cannot go on. Our NHS staff and ambulance are doing everything they can, but people’s lives are at risk when ambulance response times are so poor.

“Week after week I hear stories of people waiting hours for an ambulance, hours for treatment in A&E and even being treated in the back of ambulances sat outside our hospitals.

“The Welsh Labour Government is failing time and again to address the crisis in our NHS.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “As the health service continues to recover from the pandemic, and more people are coming forward with health concerns, we have seen the highest number of referrals for a first outpatient appointment since January 2020, with just over 115,000 referrals made in March. This increase in referrals helps to explain why the total waiting lists size increased by 1.4% on the previous month. It should be noted that activity levels for treatment and outpatients are at their highest level since the start of the pandemic.

“The number of outpatients appointments in March, was the highest since January 2020 (255,384). On top of this the numbers of inpatient and day case treatments, were the highest since the start of the pandemic.

“The number of patient pathways closed in March, that is people who have started or no longer require treatment, was the highest since the start of the pandemic, 1.7% more per day on average than in February.

“While the total numbers waiting for diagnostic tests continues to increase, the numbers waiting over the 8 weeks target decreased for the second month in a row to their lowest level since April 2021 and by 4.9% compared to February 2022.

“March also saw the highest level of activity in cancer services since December 2020. There was a 12.4% increase in the number of people starting their first treatment following a new cancer diagnosis, compared to the previous month. 12,643 pathways were closed following patients being informed they did not have cancer, an increase of 11.1% on February 2022.

“The Planned Care Recovery Plan published last month set out a series of ambitions. The first ambition was to reduce the number of open pathways waiting over 52 weeks for a first outpatient appointment to zero by the end of 2022.
In In March 2022, the number of pathways waiting over 52 weeks for the first outpatient appointment decreased by 1% compared to February.

“In March 2022, the number of pathways waiting over 52 weeks decreased by 4.8% compared to March 2021.

“Despite the percentage of patient pathways waiting more than 36 weeks increasing in March, the average time waiting for treatment fell and the proportion waiting less than 26 weeks increased.”

“This month sees the first publication of 111 data since the service was rolled out across Wales. In April almost 86,000 calls were made to the 111 service, an average of 2,863 calls per day. The service is run by the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and can be accessed online at 111.wales.nhs.uk or by telephone by calling 111, will give people up-to-date health advice and guidance on which NHS service is right for them.

“999 emergency ambulance and emergency department staff and services remain under considerable pressure and performance is not where we want it to be. Our Six Goals for urgent and emergency care programme has been launched to support improvements in outcomes and experience by helping staff to deliver the right care, in the right place, first time whenever possible.

“There was a decrease in average daily attendances to emergency departments in April, and a slight improvement in performance against the targets. The number of life threating ‘red’ calls remains high, increasing by 36% when compared to the same month in 2021. There is a live national delivery plan in place to support continuous improvement, including in support of tackling ambulance patient handover delays.

“It is important to note that during March nearly 400,000 patient consultations were seen by the NHS in Wales for emergency or elective treatment.”

Community

Plea to save at-risk Anchorage day care centre

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

AN ONLINE plea to save a Pembrokeshire day centre from being closed has been lodged with the county council.

The Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock has been a “safe and happy place” for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs for decades.

In more recent years it has expanded to support elderly dementia sufferers.

But now the centre is expected to close, with services instead being offered elsewhere in the county, including Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

A series of engagement events have taken place at The Anchorage recently, outlining the reasons and the options in continued service.

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The parents and carers are all very upset at the way we have been treated, kept in the dark and then presented with what is a fait accompli to close the Anchorage, while at the same time going through the motions of a ‘consultation’ with us.

“The clients at The Anchorage have friendships with each other and staff going back decades in some cases.

“One young woman who attends ran out of the first meeting sobbing when she was told it was going to close. Another, at the second meeting, tried to address the meeting but was so chocked up at the thought of not seeing her friends anymore she could hardly speak.”

She added: “The Anchorage has been a respite in the day for parents and a safe, happy place for the clients.

“Everyone feels that the county council is not considering the feelings of the clients, most of whom are upset and frightened by change to their routine.”

Another person raising concerns said: “The centre is set to close as early as next month – meaning the sudden retraction of a service which, for many families in the area, is nothing short of a lifeline.

“I’m not sure PCC understand the gravity of the impact that closing the centre will have on the lives of many people, particularly the customers, some of whom may not understand or cope well with such a total upheaval of the familiarity of their daily routine.

“It’s so upsetting that the people who will be most affected by the closure of the centre are as much a part of the Pembrokeshire community as anybody else that the council claims to represent, and yet in this decision, I feel they’re not being seen as such.”

Since then, an online e-petition, on the council’s own website has been launched calling for it to stay open.

It says: “The centre provides day-care support to a number of vulnerable adults with varying levels of disability who are unable to process, and understand, the implications of such a decision.

“Some of those attending the centre have been doing so for over 20 years and continuity is a vital part of their lives. Removing this service will have nothing other than a huge detrimental impact on their health and mental wellbeing.”

The petition has attracted 284 signatures to date.

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “Following the engagement sessions held with families and service users regarding the future of the centre on April 10 and 17 at the Anchorage, families said that they would like to maintain the Anchorage Day Centre and explained that they would write to the council in order to ask for the decision to be overturned.

“People who attend the service will be offered alternative care, all service users are currently having their individual care needs assessed by social work teams to fully understand which other services best meet those care needs.”

Health

Dental services ‘facing collapse’ in Wales

Published

7 days ago

April 25, 2024

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

DENTAL services are at risk of catastrophic collapse, with people resorting to “DIY dentistry” and pulling their own teeth with pliers, the Senedd heard.

Peter Fox warned that NHS dental services are seeing rapid decline following the Welsh Government’s introduction of a new contract in 2022.

He told the Senedd: “These contracts don’t work for dentists, nor do they work for patients,” as he highlighted a 60% fall in the number of NHS dental posts compared with 2021.

Echoing concerns raised by the British Dental Association, the Conservative MS said dental services face potential catastrophic collapse due to the contract reforms.

Mr Fox, who represents Monmouth, cautioned that patients are being left with a choice between years’-long waiting lists or paying hundreds of pounds for private care.

He said: “This lack of accessibility has led people to drastic action – from harrowing stories of people pulling out their own teeth with pliers or people being forced to take 200-mile round trips to get dental appointments. Clearly, this is just simply unacceptable in the 21st century.”

Leading a debate about primary care on April 24, Mr Fox warned GPs are also struggling due to a lack of contract funding, which is not uplifted in line with rising costs and pay uplifts.

He told MSs some GPs are having to pay staff and utility bills out of their own pockets, with practices forced to withdraw more and more services.

The Conservative said some constituents face 50-mile round trips and 50-week waits for services in hospitals that were previously carried out routinely and timely in GP practices.

Mr Fox, who led Monmouthshire council for more than a decade before being elected to the Senedd in 2021, urged the Welsh Government to urgently review GP and dental contracts.

Eluned Morgan told the chamber the majority of contacts with the NHS are in primary care – with up to one-and-a-half million contacts a month in a population of three million people.

Wales’ health secretary recognised the extreme pressure on practices, saying the contract last year provided a 5% uplift not just to GPs but also staff who work in their surgeries.

She said: “We want to reform the dental contract on a preventative basis, responding to risk and need, and we have introduced up to 300,000 appointments to new dental patients.”

Baroness Morgan, who is married to a GP, stressed the importance of other professionals in the community, such as pharmacists and opticians, to the preventative agenda.

She said most pharmacies in Wales provide a free service for 27 common ailments, helping to reduce pressure on GPs and other parts of the healthcare system.

During first minister’s questions on April 23, Sian Gwenllian said many of her constituents are unable to access public dental services – “an entirely unacceptable situation”.

The Plaid Cymru MS for Arfon raised concerns a new dental academy in Bangor closed its books to NHS patients despite promises it would help tackle a lack of public services.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ new shadow health secretary, said far too many people across north Wales do not have access to an NHS dentist.

He raised comments from Russell Gidney, chair of the Welsh general dental practice committee, warning of a rise in “DIY dentistry” due to a lack of proper access.

Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government is committed to reforming the dental contract to unlock capacity and access to NHS services is one of the health secretary’s top priorities.

Health

Pembrokeshire residents suffer severe health decline ‘due to landfill gases’

Published

1 week ago

April 24, 2024

Tom Sinclair

A PEMBROKESHIRE couple, Mr Richard and Revd Patricia Rogers of Crud yr Awel, are experiencing severe health issues attributed to emissions from the Withyhedge Landfill, resulting in drastic lifestyle changes and severe symptoms.

Revd Rogers, who has managed asthma since childhood, reported a significant deterioration in her condition following exposure to landfill gases. Despite having controlled her asthma with minimal medication for years, she now requires intensive treatment including increased doses of Symbicort and Salbutamol Sulfate inhalers, alongside courses of steroids and antibiotics. Her symptoms have escalated to include extreme breathlessness, a hacking cough, frequent nosebleeds, continual headaches, and vertigo, culminating in a severe impact on her ability to perform daily tasks and care for her disabled daughter.

The couple’s health is closely monitored through their doctor’s surgery, and they attend the asthma clinic regularly. However, feeling powerless to directly change the situation, they have taken a stand by cancelling their council tax payments, a decision they plan to maintain until the landfill issue is resolved.

Revd Rogers has also prepared a letter to the Coroner, outlining the severity of her health issues as potentially life-threatening due to the landfill’s impact. This dramatic step underlines the gravity of their situation and their desperation for a resolution.

The Rogers’ story is not just a personal tragedy but a stark example of the broader environmental and health challenges faced by the community surrounding the Withyhedge Landfill.

They are calling for punitive measures against those responsible, including compensation for the financial impacts of their ordeal.

Their story has surfaced on the same day we reported that Natural Resources Wales is taking further enforcement action against the firm running the site.

NRW has issued site operators Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice which requires the operator to deliver a series of actions by specified deadlines to address ongoing smells from the landfill.

You can read more about the Enforcement Notice on the NRW website.

Outgoing Council Leader, Cllr David Simpson, said in a statement this week: “The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.

“We now need to see RML act on the demands of the Notice and within the deadlines.

“The Council fully backs NRW’s stance that nothing is off the table in terms of further enforcement, including suspending the site’s environmental permit if appropriate, and we remain committed to working with NRW to ensure a long term solution to these issues.”