Archive - Monday, 8 February 2010


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Response times: The real facts

AFTER the article (LET, February 1), I wonder just how stupid Hazel Harding thinks the people of East Lancashire are.

The shake-up of A&E services in this area has been an unmitigated disaster. Even the appalling figures published don’t tell the true story.

The increasing use of single- manned, fast-response vehicles by the ambulance service is just a way of covering up the true response times. How many of the public are aware that as soon as a fast response vehicle arrives at the scene of an emergency, the clock stops and that is counted as the response time?

These vehicles, though manned by highly trained and dedicated paramedics, can only offer a stabilisation and reassurance service at best.

They cannot in any event transport those in desperate need of urgent hospital treatment. That has to be done by a fully crewed, double-manned paramedic unit. That vehicle could take another half-hour or more to arrive on scene.

If the response time was taken from the arrival of a vehicle capable of transporting the patient, the response time targets would be missed by more like 50%.

I am sure that ambulance staff are sick of wearing a groove in the M65. They are, in the main, consummate professionals who strive to provide a first class service to the public. They are not to blame for this mess.

People are having to wait in agony, sometimes on that very fine line between life and death, whilst those like Hazel Harding bury their heads in the sand, and deny all responsibility for the shambolic state of the A&E service in this area.

Time and again these people refuse to have a full and public inquiry into this situation. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out why. An inquiry would prove beyond doubt that this “rationalisation of services” is the worst disaster to affect our local health services in the recent history of the NHS.

Ken Broom, Nelson.


Comments (1)

08/02/10

Davidoff says...

Well, like the majority of our wonderful MPs, yes, they do think the rest of the public is stupid. Except not many MPs have what is commonly known as 'nous' or any real idea about anything, certainly not about how these inflicted changes affect the ordinary man (non-MP) in the street. Why should they? Does anyone think the average MP will be actually using any NHS facility, ambulance or otherwise if they need medical treatment? Probably claim private care on expenses, too. Whilst the rest of us must wait months just to have a preliminary appointment lasting 10 minutes (if you're lucky and there aren't 10 thousand others out in the waiting area; year before last I witnessed a whole line of people along one wall of a whole corridor at Preston Hospital waiting for a clinic appointment, so they'll be lucky to be and say 'hello' before coming out again). I also doubt they use NHS Direct, either. Least said about that, the better!