7. Will the Minister make a statement on ambulance services in Blaenau Gwent? OAQ53952

I thank him for the question. The Welsh ambulance service continues to deliver a safe and timely service to the people of Blaenau Gwent. In April this year, 71.2 per cent of emergency responses to red calls within Aneurin Bevan arrived within the eight-minute target, with a median response time of just five minutes and 38 seconds.

Thank you very much, Minister. I think all of us recognise the hard work that goes in from paramedics to ensure that people do feel, and are, safe in their homes. We also know that some calls are delayed, particularly amber and green calls, and we also know that there are some significant issues that prevent the ambulance service operating efficiently. I'm thinking particularly of the handovers in hospitals, and you will have seen some reports about that in the press and the media earlier this week. We also know from the statistics you yourself have published that something like 21,000 hours were lost in the first quarter of this year in terms of ambulance handovers at hospitals. Now, we know we have very hard-working staff in accident and emergency, who feel under enormous pressure because of the pressures on that service, and we also know that ambulance workers are working at capacity as well. So, it appears to me that we have a system where we have two groups of people who work extraordinarily hard to keep us safe and to provide us with the services we need, but the system itself seems to be preventing them from always doing that. Minister, would you undertake to look again—and I know we've discussed this before—at the way in which ambulance handovers at A&Es are operated to ensure that ambulances are able to meet, I think, the 15-minute target that you have established for them and are able to spend more time providing this service and less time at handovers?

Yes, I'm happy to look again. In fact, there is work already taking place. Yesterday, we had an opportunity to talk about the amber review, and in eliminating those really long waits that do take place, part of that is actually about releasing the capacity that is often held up at a hospital site. Within Aneurin Bevan recently, in the last quarter, they had the highest number of delays of over one hour. We have two particular measures: one of whether ambulances are released within 15 minutes, and the second measure of whether they're released within an hour. So, there's real pressure within the current system.

Now, in the medium term, we'll have a new facility in the Grange, which should mean that we have a better process and a better system for people to work in, but that does mean that, for the next couple of years, before the Grange comes on stream, we do need to make sure that we improve the system that we have. That is about the whole system. It is about social care. It is about the way in which we organise different parts. It is also about the practice and procedure within emergency departments as well. I'm actually meeting a group of clinicians to look at a review of emergency department measures to try and help to change the leadership and the culture within those by listening to their peers as well. This isn't about the Government centrally dictating; it is about good practice in different parts of our system, learning from each other and real leadership. I'd be more than happy to discuss some of the detail with you outside of the Chamber as well.FootnoteLink

Information further to Plenary

Further to Mr Alun Davies's question, Minister, figures show that ambulance crews across Wales spent more than 65,000 hours waiting to offload patients at hospitals last year—and you mentioned already the 25,000 hours since 2015, also on top of it. What action is the Minister taking to address the problem of extended handover delays to improve ambulance services in Blaenau Gwent and elsewhere in Wales? We know the ambulance people are doing a wonderful job, but what are the reasons and facts and figures that the handover time is so much outside hospital rather than people being in hospital? Thank you.

I'm not sure, Llywydd, I can detect anything different in the question the Member has asked to the supplementary asked by the Member for Blaenau Gwent. I repeat again there is a series of work already in place to look at measures within emergency departments, as I indicated in answer to Alun Davies. Overall within our system, we've had improvement within the last quarter, but there is a challenge within the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area, and I'm looking to see what happens across the whole system to deliver the improvement. But, other than that, Llywydd, I don't think I can add to the answer I've already given on the same subject.