Ambulance service progress vow

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Managers at the Welsh Ambulance Service say they will make improvements after being given six months by the assembly government to meet their targets.

It follows a critical review of the service for the assembly government which which found evidence of bullying and poor morale amongst staff.

Another report on the service by Wales' auditor general Jeremy Colman found regional variations in response times.

But he said there had been improvements in the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust.

The Wales Audit Office's critical report, first published in 2006, found the service had longstanding and severe problems and the auditor general made 28 recommendations to be implemented by the service.

In the follow-up report, Mr Colman said there had been "widespread improvements" within the trust through the implementation of those recommendations as part of its five year modernisation programme but that certain aspects remained "far from satisfactory".

It found problems with staff morale, management, excessive turnaround times for ambulance crews at hospitals and the effectiveness with which the service matches supply and demand.

Our greatest challenge lies in making sure that staff, particularly those in the front line, are properly supported through the remaining major changes Alan Murray, chief executive Welsh Ambulance Service

The Wales Audit Office report, which also contributed to the wider review of the service published on Tuesday, pointed to a range of financial risks and the importance of effective work with partners to make the system function more effectively.

While the report found general improvements in response time performance, a minority of people were still waiting far too long, and regional variations remained across Wales.

Mr Colman said that while it was encouraging to find improvements in the service it was vital to recognise that it would take time to turn the trust around.

"It is now essential that the trust takes a robust approach to addressing the key challenges it faces, not least improving the morale of its workforce and their engagement in the modernisation process," he said.

Additional pressure

Health Minister Edwina Hart said on Tuesday she expected to see "demonstrable improvement" in the service within the next six months, particularly in rural Wales.

She said she was "extremely concerned" about staff morale and poor people management which was highlighted in the review led by Stuart Fletcher, chair of the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust.

The Welsh Ambulance Service's chief executive Alan Murray said the period of change at the trust had put additional pressure on staff and managers.

"Our greatest challenge lies in making sure that staff, particularly those in the front line, are properly supported through the remaining major changes," he said.

"We have met our very tough efficiency targets over each of the last two years and are required to break even this year.

"I think it's fair to say that there was great concern about whether we could achieve this level of saving and improve performance. So far we have done both.

"The review's recommendations and the analysis provided by the auditor general will greatly assist us as we move forward with the modernisation of emergency ambulance services in Wales."