This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/6204706.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Ambulance 'crisis' findings due Leadership fuelled 999 'crisis'
(about 4 hours later)
The results of an official inquiry into the state of the Welsh Ambulance Service are due to be revealed later. A lack of direction and weak leadership has led to longstanding poor performance by the Welsh Ambulance Service, a report has concluded.
It follows a period that has seen ambulance response times worsen and three different chief executives in charge in as many months. Auditor General Jeremy Colman has published an official inquiry into the "crisis-ridden" service
Auditor General Jeremy Colman was asked to investigate the ambulance service in June, shortly after the departure of then chief executive Roger Thayne. It follows a crisis that is seen response times worsen, and five different bosses over the last year.
The service has since returned its worst response time figures since 2003. It highlighted serious problems over years but also finds "important strengths" providing optimism.
The Welsh Ambulance Service has gone through a period of instability, which began in May when chief executive Roger Thayne left, claiming the service was in "crisis" and needed millions of pounds of investment. The audit report was commissioned by assembly members after an interim Welsh Ambulance Service chief executive quit, claiming the NHS trust was "in crisis" and its failures were putting lives at risk.
I don't think they, the public, appreciate how few ambulances there are on the road at any one time Swansea paramedic Huw James There is a genuine passion and desire among our staff, whether they are people in green suits or people in grey suits, to improve the service Alan Murray, ambulance service chief executive
He resigned after being asked to make savings and warned lives were being lost because of failures. The service saw three chief executives over a three-month period - the latest, Alan Murray, has vowed to improve the service by the end of the year.
Shortly after his resignation, assembly members voted in favour of holding an inquiry into the service.
Mr Thayne's successor, Anton van Dellen, then resigned as interim chief executive in July, saying he was unable to commit long-term to the role.
Alan Murray was announced as the new permanent chief executive in August, but the service has since returned worsening figures for emergency response times.
Alan Murray has been chief executive since August
Last week, NHS statistics revealed that between July and September, just 54% of ambulances had reached an eight-minute target to respond to the most serious cases.Last week, NHS statistics revealed that between July and September, just 54% of ambulances had reached an eight-minute target to respond to the most serious cases.
The figure was a fall from 57% recorded in the previous quarter and well below the assembly government's 60% target.The figure was a fall from 57% recorded in the previous quarter and well below the assembly government's 60% target.
The auditor general's report, published on Monday, will attempt to provide answers to some of the problems experienced by the ambulance service. Referring to serious problems which had continued at the ambulance trust for several years, the auditor general's report pointed to a longstanding lack of direction as well as weaknesses in leadership at board level.
Paramedic Huw James, based in Swansea, said ambulance crews would "like to know what is going on". 'Management failures'
He said: "I don't think they, the public, appreciate how few ambulances there are on the road at any one time. Inflexible shift patterns for ambulance crews had led to the service not matching the peak demands on ambulances and patient-care services, even though the overall staff and revenue resources appeared adequate.
They (paramedics) are really sick to the back teeth of being looked at a second-class service. Jonathan Morgan AM Management failures had left the service with an inadequate fleet of ambulances, partly because it had a fleet of 46 vehicles which were not fully fit for purpose.
"I think a lot of people think they dial 999 and we're parked on the roadway. They don't appreciate we sometimes we've come from out of the area. The auditor general also stated that more money would be needed to invest in a satellite navigation system and other computer software.
"People are anxious because they've got ill family and they want us there, like, yesterday. We turn up and it's a 'where-have-you-been?' scenario." The report made 28 recommendations but noted the trust's "key strengths" - that it had enough staff and money to run its day-to-day operations and was in a position similar to other ambulance services that had gone on to improve themselves.
Conservative health spokesman Jonathan Morgan AM said it was important the ambulance service had "sustained leadership". The report paid tribute to highly-skilled front-line paramedics and technicians
He said: "It's not good just having a decent chief executive. We've got a very decent chief executive, I think Alan Murray is a superb individual with a great track record. Mr Colman said: "It will take time to deliver sustained improvement but I am hopeful that the service can turn itself around as long as it addresses key challenges."
"But we need to ensure that the board of the ambulance service, those other directors, are there to support him. The report was welcomed by Mr Murray who said: "While the report has rightly pinpointed some long-standing problems, I wholeheartedly agree with its conclusion that we should be optimistic about the future of the service.
He added that more account needed to be taken of the staff in the ambulance service. "There is a genuine passion and desire among our staff, whether they are people in green suits or people in grey suits, to improve the service.
He said: "They are really sick to the back teeth of being looked at a second-class service. 'Investment'
"They don't provide a second-class service, it's just the arrangements and circumstances within which they work. When they get to patients they provide a first-class service and I think we need to recognise that." "This is not a new situation for me. When I was brought in to help the Merseyside ambulance service, it was labelled as being the worst in England."
Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Jenny Randerson said she hoped the report would be "detailed and in-depth". "But it was not a lost cause, far from it. Within a year, we managed to turn things round completely.
She said: "That way it will be a good foundation for the modernisation plan which the ambulance trust is putting in place at the moment. Welsh Health Minister Brian Gibbons, who inadvertently voted with opposition AMs who were calling for the inquiry, said: "I will be looking carefully at the report and considering where we need to focus our attention.
"We have already given our commitment to modernising the ambulance service in Wales and we are now working closely with the ambulance trust to take this forward."
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Jenny Randerson said: "It took the combined opposition parties and the health minister's clumsy fingers to make it happen.
Plaid Cymru's health minister, Helen Mary Jones AM, said: "The report quite rightly identifies front-line ambulance staff as one of the strengths of the service.
"We now need to ensure that the further capital investment needed by the service, as identified in the report, is put in place alongside better capital planning to develop the service."
Welsh Tories health spokesman Jonathan Morgan AM said the blame for the service's shortcomings "lies with the way in which the service has been run since it was reformed in 1998 and also with the assembly government which is principally responsible for strategic direction and leadership".