Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 6 December 2016.
There are several ways of doing it. One is to make sure that people are properly assessed when they arrive in terms of where they go for treatment, making sure that ambulances are able to get away as quickly as possible. That means focusing A&E in particular centres across Wales. We’re able to provide a certain degree of specialisation—that’s been difficult—but nevertheless we know that it provides people with a better outcome. I would say that we see the improvement in terms of ambulance waiting times at A&E through the response times to the most immediately life-threatening calls. The fact that more and more of these calls are being got to within the time allocated is a sign that ambulances are getting away more quickly as a general rule from A&E departments. Yes, there will be some pressures now and again on some dates, where a larger number of people unexpectedly do come through. But he’s right, if you look at the most immediately life-threatening calls, response time in Northern Ireland 51.2 per cent; in England around about 65 per cent; Scotland 66.4 per cent; and Wales 79.5 per cent. That’s a tribute to the paramedics that we have in Wales and indeed the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust.