Scott on the Governments Ambulance response changes

This week the government released the Ambulance response times, indicating that patients with stroke or heart attack symptoms could wait longer. 

Bosses insist the shake-up of 999 medical services will save 250 lives a year - but some response times will be downgraded

Scott said: "A while back I completed a shift with the local Amble crew. Wonderfully hard working people who were dedicated to their jobs." "Often the Ambulance Service isn't talked about in terms of funding cuts. We need to remember that they too have had huge cuts and resource is tight."

"These changes claim to be in the interests of the patient, I wonder if it's more about the current missing of targets repeatedly."

"In North Northumberland we know only too well the issues relating to response times in rural communities." 

"The service is so lucky to have such dedicated staff who've seen pay cuts for the last few years with the Conservatives pay cap." 

From this autumn, the most serious calls, such as when a patient is not breathing or their heart has stopped, will be expected to have a response within seven minutes typically and a maximum of 15 minutes overall for 90% of patients. But it means millions of patients, such as those with suspected heart attack and some strokes, will now see the target for them relaxed. They will move from the life-threatening category to an emergency category. These patients will be expected to receive a response within a maximum of 40 minutes for 90% of patients and typically within 18 minutes. NHS England bosses said the move will save lives and crack down on many calls which are classed as life-threatening but turn out not to be. A quarter of patients currently classed as life-threatening are not transported to hospital. Earlier this week:

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth blasted ministers for a string of missed targets. He said: “This Government have failed to hit any of their main NHS ambulance targets since May 2015 and an updated system that truly works for patients is clearly overdue. Labour's Jon Ashworth warned the standards must not be based on cost “NHS ambulance trusts must now be given every support to build a new system which has the support of paramedics and patients alike. “The truth is that the Tories’ underfunding and mismanagement of the NHS has pushed ambulance services to the brink and left record numbers of patients suffering and in discomfort. “The public will want to know that a new series of standards is truly based on the best clinical evidence and not just on the money which the Government are making available.”