Ambulance Delays putting lives at Risk

It is outrageous that by the latest NHS figures show that London Ambulances are taking almost a minute longer to reach patients in a life-threatening condition compared to three years ago. The British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association have warned that delays put lives at risk. Under this government the A&E situation is already critical. On top of losing A&E services in Hammersmith and eventually at Charing Cross, we now learn that the ambulance service is also under too much stress.

Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, says these figures raise real concerns that lives are being put at risk by the chaos in the NHS. Hospital A&E departments have missed the Government’s waiting time target for the last 51 weeks running. This crisis in A&E has trapped ambulances in queues outside hospitals - leaving the next caller facing longer, agonising waits, and people tell me they have seen this happen at West Mid. More and more calls are being attended by police cars and even fire engines on David Cameron’s watch. For people who've suffered cardiac arrest or a stroke, every second counts and that is why this slump in standards cannot continue.

For callers receiving a Category A response from an ambulance service, speed is important. The chances of surviving cardiac arrest decrease by 10% with each minute that passes.

Dr Dale Webb, Director of Research and Information from the Stroke Association has said that when stroke strikes the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off by a clot or damaged by a bleed which causes brain cells in the affected area to die, so time lost is brain lost. Lengthening ambulance times are concerning because stroke patients need to get to specialist treatment as soon as possible. The quicker someone arrives at a specialist stroke unit the quicker they should receive the right treatment and the more likely they are to make a better recovery.

We really can't trust David Cameron with the NHS.