The Ambulance Service

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 15 May 2018.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:02, 15 May 2018

Let me give the leader of Plaid Cymru a fuller answer. The winter of 2017-18 did see a sustained pressure across the NHS, both in Wales and the UK in general. March 2018 was, I think I'm right in saying, the busiest month ever for the ambulance service. One of the key groups of staff affected has been the 999 call takers and the control-room staff who work for the Welsh ambulance service as well as, of course, ambulance staff themselves and the paramedics. What the ambulance service did was approach the ambulance service charity to provide support to ambulance clinical-control centres, particularly to call-taking staff. Two sessions were run at each of the three regional control centres, covering a range of support mechanisms available to help staff with their emotional and physical well-being, but also the wider support available from TASC, the charity, in areas such as financial management, preparing for the future, and other benefits that TASC provides for ambulance staff. And the feedback from staff has been, 'Those sessions were invaluable', and the trust is now looking at how TASC resources can be used to support staff in the future as part of the trust's response to operational pressure.