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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/13/ambulance-trust-accused-jeopardising-patients-cars
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Ambulance trust accused of jeopardising patients by sending cars | Ambulance trust accused of jeopardising patients by sending cars |
| (2 days later) | |
| Health chiefs have been accused of putting lives at risk by sending cars instead of ambulances to emergencies. East of England Ambulance Trust is sending rapid response vehicles (RRVs) to 999 calls to hit targets, even when the patient needs an ambulance for transport to hospital, a paramedic has claimed, with the result that patients sometimes wait for hours for an ambulance to reach them. | Health chiefs have been accused of putting lives at risk by sending cars instead of ambulances to emergencies. East of England Ambulance Trust is sending rapid response vehicles (RRVs) to 999 calls to hit targets, even when the patient needs an ambulance for transport to hospital, a paramedic has claimed, with the result that patients sometimes wait for hours for an ambulance to reach them. |
| Patient safety is being compromised by the trust’s focus on hitting response targets, the paramedic told the Health Service Journal (HSJ). Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said: “The trust has become so fixated with hitting the target by sending out RRVs to stop the clock. | Patient safety is being compromised by the trust’s focus on hitting response targets, the paramedic told the Health Service Journal (HSJ). Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said: “The trust has become so fixated with hitting the target by sending out RRVs to stop the clock. |
| “Care, patient safety and dignity are really being badly compromised. Everyone has horror stories. It’s as bad as I can ever remember.” | “Care, patient safety and dignity are really being badly compromised. Everyone has horror stories. It’s as bad as I can ever remember.” |
| The paramedic said “elderly, frail patients” were sometimes left “lying on the ground waiting up to two or three hours for an ambulance to turn up”. “Often they’re in pain, maybe with a broken hip. When it’s in the winter, it’s often in cold, frosty conditions. Sometimes they are lying on a limb, and who knows what damage is being done as a result?” | The paramedic said “elderly, frail patients” were sometimes left “lying on the ground waiting up to two or three hours for an ambulance to turn up”. “Often they’re in pain, maybe with a broken hip. When it’s in the winter, it’s often in cold, frosty conditions. Sometimes they are lying on a limb, and who knows what damage is being done as a result?” |
| Former health minister Norman Lamb said the trust was “at risk of chasing a target, rather than improving patient care”, which was “perverse in the extreme”. The Liberal Democrat MP said the trust appeared to be behaving “contrary to what other ambulance trusts in the country are doing”, and said: “It’s just a completely ludicrous state of affairs.” | Former health minister Norman Lamb said the trust was “at risk of chasing a target, rather than improving patient care”, which was “perverse in the extreme”. The Liberal Democrat MP said the trust appeared to be behaving “contrary to what other ambulance trusts in the country are doing”, and said: “It’s just a completely ludicrous state of affairs.” |
| Figures obtained by Unison and seen by HSJ show a rise in the proportion of RRVs being sent to calls from 29% in March last year to 36% in the same month this year. In April 2017 it was 42%. | Figures obtained by Unison and seen by HSJ show a rise in the proportion of RRVs being sent to calls from 29% in March last year to 36% in the same month this year. In April 2017 it was 42%. |
| Unison’s East of England ambulance branch secretary, Fraer Stevenson, said the figures supported concerns raised by “increasing numbers of staff … focusing on RRVs in order to hit targets”. | Unison’s East of England ambulance branch secretary, Fraer Stevenson, said the figures supported concerns raised by “increasing numbers of staff … focusing on RRVs in order to hit targets”. |
| She added: “We saw this in 2012-13, and it’s really disappointing to see us returning to the same operating model. At a time when nationally it appears other ambulance trusts are moving away from and reducing their RRVs, our trust appears to be doing the opposite.” | She added: “We saw this in 2012-13, and it’s really disappointing to see us returning to the same operating model. At a time when nationally it appears other ambulance trusts are moving away from and reducing their RRVs, our trust appears to be doing the opposite.” |
| In a statement to HSJ, the trust said: “The trust does not put targets before safety. Rather it prioritises its response to the sickest patients. In addition, the trust has been reducing the rapid response vehicle hours it has been deploying since December 2016. | In a statement to HSJ, the trust said: “The trust does not put targets before safety. Rather it prioritises its response to the sickest patients. In addition, the trust has been reducing the rapid response vehicle hours it has been deploying since December 2016. |
| “The trust continually monitors patient safety, responses to patients and any delays in getting patients to hospital. These form the basis of discussions around investing in additional ambulance capacity, something which is regularly discussed at board meetings.” | “The trust continually monitors patient safety, responses to patients and any delays in getting patients to hospital. These form the basis of discussions around investing in additional ambulance capacity, something which is regularly discussed at board meetings.” |
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