Following a recent inquiry the National Assembly for Wales' Health and Social Care Committee has written to the Deputy Minister for Health, Vaughan Gething AM, to outline the actions it says are needed to improve the response time performance of ambulance services in Wales.
The Committee's letter identifies eight areas in which progress is needed. These include the need for local health boards to be more engaged with the work of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust; the need to address the issue of ambulances being 'pulled away' from their areas; and the need to reduce the number of hours lost as a result of patient handover delays.
David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said:
"As a Committee, we recognise that the emergency ambulance service plays a vital role in the provision of health services to the people of Wales. Individually, frontline ambulance service staff fulfil challenging roles to high standards and provide help and support to people in times of need, but overall, the ambulance service's response time performance is not where it should be.
"We acknowledge the strong leadership shown by the new chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, and the practical actions she has taken to bring about cultural change and drive up performance. Despite this, the Committee is not yet persuaded that performance is improving quickly enough."
The Committee's letter (PDF 221KB)
The Committee intends to hold further evidence sessions in relation to the ambulance services later this year.