Council Motion: Ambulance Response Times

Council notes with concern the increase in average Ambulance Response times in REGION NAME – which in the last quarter of 2021 were at their highest since records began in 2017.

Council would like to record its gratitude to local ambulance staff – who work flat out to keep our community safe every day of the year. However Council believes the Government has failed to act on warnings that ambulance services are struggling to maintain a safe and timely service. 

The target response time for a ‘Category 1’ incident (immediately life threatening) is 7 minutes. However the latest figures from December 2021 showed the average response time in REGION NAME for Category 1 callouts is XX minutes. 

The target response time for a ‘Category 2’ incident (major incidents such as strokes or potential heart attacks) is 18 minutes, but in December 2021 the average response time in REGION NAME for a Category 2 callout was XX minutes. 

Council believes the response times for Category 2 callouts are particularly concerning. Those who suffer serious emergencies such as strokes, severe chest pains and severe burns need to be treated urgently. 

Council gives its support to the Ambulance Waiting Times (Local Reporting) Bill, moved by Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper, which is currently being considered in Parliament. The bill would make it a requirement for NHS Trusts to publish regular localised reports into Ambulance response times for Category 1,2,3 and 4 callouts and to provide explanations for targets not being met. 

Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to;

• Express the Council’s support of the Ambulance Waiting Times Bill. 
• Commission the CQC, under powers laid out in Section 48 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to conduct an urgent investigation into the causes and impacts of ambulance service delays. 

Council further agrees for a report to brought to the next RELEVANT HEALTH SCRUTINY COMMISSION meeting to provide further analysis of ambulance response times in COUNCIL AREA NAME, causes of response targets not being met and what support the Council can give local NHS services to improve local ambulance response rates.