Bates welcomes Minister's commitment to assess First Responder demand across Wales (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

Bates welcomes Minister's commitment to assess First Responder demand across Wales

March 11, 2009 12:00 AM

Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has urged the Minister in the Chamber for more support for the training of First Responder groups in Powys to help the delivery of emergency care in rural areas and was pleased to note her commitment to assessing the need for more training for First Responders across Wales.

Commenting in the Chamber Welsh Liberal Democrat Mick stated:

"I welcomed the recent £10.5million investment in the Ambulance Service, which will help lower Ambulance response times across Wales. However, this money is only part of the solution if we are to truly tackle the huge variation in response times across Wales, from 78.4% in Conwy to 39.8% in Powys.

"In large rural areas such as Powys the Ambulance service in Powys is increasingly overstretched and the large and sparse nature of Powys puts our emergency services at a disadvantage.

"First Responders have a crucial role to play in supporting our ambulance service, as often they can be on the scene quickly in response to emergency calls and provide essential care during the critical minutes before the Ambulance arrives.

"Currently there is only one trainer for First Responders in Powys which is not sufficient to deliver the level of emergency care that people across Powys deserve.

"I have urged the Minister to fund the training of more First Responder groups who will have an increasing role to play in the delivery of emergency care and patient transport particularly in rural areas. In response I was extremely pleased to note the Health Minister's commitment to assessing the need for more First Responder training across Wales."

Notes:

December 2008 saw a substantial fall in the number of Powys Ambulances arriving on scene within the target eight minutes, with those on target falling from 44.6% in November to 39.8%. The All-Wales target is currently set at 65%.

The £10.5million in funding for equipment will enable ambulance controllers to better track ambulances to help in the deployment of the nearest ambulance to a patient. It will also allow controllers to automatically send the location and details of the patient to the ambulance crew.

End/Diwedd