Powys Ambulance Waiting Times Amongst the Worst in Wales

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for action to tackle long ambulance waiting times in Powys following the publication of new statistics this week.

Only 40% of red calls, the most serious category of incidents, were answered within target times, this is compared to 50% across all of Wales.

Meanwhile, 61% of amber calls, which include strokes and heart attacks, took over 60 minutes to respond to.

Other datasets showed 608,000 people were still on an NHS waiting list across Wales, while more than 8,389 people were waiting over two years to start treatment.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that Labour’s management of the NHS in Wales over the last 25 years has been a “disaster” for the public and have stated that the Liberal Democrats top priority in next year’s Senedd elections would be to fix social care to relieve pressure on hospitals and the ambulance service.

Many hospitals in Wales and over the border in Shropshire and Herefordshire are unable to discharge patients because social care packages aren’t available, leading to bed blocking and ambulances left queuing outside of A&E units.

Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales Jane Dodds said:

“Today’s statistics are the latest in a long line that paint a really disastrous image of Labour’s management of the NHS in Wales over the last 25 years.

“But behind every single one of these statistics are real people, real families being impacted by the inability to get the help they deserve when they need it.

“We must see real action to drive down waiting lists and relieve the pressure on our emergency departments and hospitals. That is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to make fixing social care our number one priority.

Adding his comments, Lib Dem MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said:

“People should be able to have confidence that during their hour of need, the NHS will be there to protect them. Sadly in Wales, that hasn’t been the case for some time.

“I’ve had countless constituents contact me since being elected, outlining the trauma they have had whilst trying to get hold of an ambulance during an emergency.

“None of this is the fault of our heroic ambulance staff of NHS workers, but it is the symptom of a failing system. We need to reform social care and ensure patients can be discharged back into the community as quickly as possible.

ENDS