3. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services: Findings of the Independent Accelerated Programme for Amber Review

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 6 November 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 3:11, 6 November 2018

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. It's reassuring that the new clinical model is shown to be achieving the objectives that we've set for it, and that it is clinically safe. But, as you acknowledge in your statement, the patient experience still is seen to be wanting in some areas. Inevitably, if you shift priority from one area to another, there are going to be longer waits for some. You say in your statement that there is no direct relationship between long waits and poorer outcomes for the majority of patients, but the patient experience does get negatively affected, and I don't think we should dismiss that. The patient experience is important, and I'd like to know a little bit more what we plan to do aside from making sure the patients who are waiting are still clinically safe. That aside, what are we going to do to make sure that the patient experience itself does not become overly negative? You said during the review period the median response time for amber calls increased by an average of seven minutes, which is disturbing. You say this is going to be addressed through focused and collaborative work, and is affected by a number of capacity factors. Perhaps you can tell us a little bit about that. I think it is important we keep scrutiny on this. I think it's good that it's safe, but there's still much more to be done. You say the review is independent, and, of course, it is independent of the ambulance service, but it's still a review by the NHS, and I wonder if you would consider involving the Wales Audit Office to provide a degree of external assurance as well.