Ambulance Response Times

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:30 pm on 24 January 2023.

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Photo of Jane Dodds Jane Dodds Liberal Democrat 1:30, 24 January 2023

It's 13:30. If somebody phones 999 now because they have chest pains, when would you expect an ambulance to arrive? I'm sure you'll recognise that question from the leader of the Labour Party in Westminster, Keir Starmer, to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister refused a straight answer, so I'm hoping that we can get a straight answer from you this afternoon. But, from NHS Wales stats, we know that, for the person who's just called 999 with those chest pains—surprisingly not a red call, but an amber call—they will likely wait over an hour for an ambulance to arrive. If the person who'd just called 999 was in a life-threatening situation—a red call—they could wait as long as 15 minutes in Powys. The target, as you know, for those red calls, is eight minutes, and the last time those targets were met was July 2020, and the figures have been in free fall ever since. Our ambulance staff work incredibly hard under very difficult circumstances. 'Diolch' to them all. So, could you tell me when you expect these targets to be met? Will it be another two and a half years before the red call targets can be met? Diolch.