Ambulance cover changes criticised

Ambulance cover changes criticised

27 November 2024

PLANS to reconfigure emergency ambulance cover in the South Eastern Trust area as part of a pilot project that will run for almost one year will potentially put lives at risk, it has been claimed.

As part of its ongoing performance review, the Ambulance Service has identified time zones when demand for services exceeds the capacity to respond and another when capacity to deliver   exceeds the demand on the service.

To provide the “best possible service to patients at their time of need”, ambulance chiefs are to increase cover between 2pm and 5pm by realigning services between 2am and 6am from next February.

They insist the move is adjusting the hours of available cover and not a reduction in the total hours of planned cover and will ensure the sickest patients get the quickest response.

South Down MLA Colin McGrath fears the proposed changes will put lives at risk in East Down and claims the level of cover will reduce from 11 available ambulances to six.

“This reduction of service is blatantly wrong and will put lives at risk,” he declared. “We know that staff are working their hardest and being constricted when ambulances are being held up at hospitals.

“What this service reduction could potentially do is leave us without any cover in East Down as all six ambulances could be held up at a hospital at any one time.”

Mr McGrath said for people who live from Newcastle to Bangor and Downpatrick to Dromore, such a move “would be utterly disastrous” and also have implications for Ards peninsula residents.

He also questioned the absence of public engagement about the changes to emergency cover and said he understands the pilot project has not been subjected to an equality impact assessment.

Mr McGrath added: “I fail to see how this move is seriously being entertained when it is so categorically flawed. 

“I have written to the Ambulance Service chief executive and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to raise serious concerns about this reduction in service. While all parties are wedded to the transformation of our health service, a move such as this falls outside that remit, places lives at risk, and must be reviewed.”

The Ambulance Service said it regularly examines data to determine how best to manage resources to provide the best possible service for patients and will always seek to ensure it is able to provide the quickest and most appropriate response to them.

A spokesman explained that as part of its ongoing review of performance, data has indicated there are times throughout each 24-hour period when demand for service exceeds the capacity to respond and, conversely, there are times when our capacity to deliver exceeds the demand on our service.

“In order to provide the best possible service to patients at their time of need, NIAS has identified two periods of time when our levels of cover can be realigned to better meet their needs,” he explained.

“This initiative will be run on a pilot basis in the South Eastern area for 48 weeks and will be reviewed at that time. To facilitate this realignment, it will be necessary to restructure staff rotas and NIAS has undertaken significant engagement with affected staff and their Trade Union representatives.”

NIAS insists that in addition to the positive impact that will be felt by patients, staff will benefit from the additional crews available to respond during the busiest periods.

The spokesman said the organisation “regularly experiences challenges” in providing rest periods that staff require throughout the day and it’s believed that with the addition of extra crews during the periods of highest demand, it will assist in providing these.

He said it is also envisaged that the rota changes will have a positive impact on the current situation relating to late finishes for staff and that inbuilt to the new rotas will be staggered start/finish times, meaning not everyone is planned to finish at the same time.

“We believe this is the best way forward for patients and staff and in addition to the rota changes, we will also draw on current practices that we have used to good effect in ensuring that the sickest patients get the quickest response,” said the spokesman.

“These include the dynamic mapping of available ambulances whereby the nearest and most appropriate response is provided, should that be from a neighbouring station or division. NIAS has also embedded an Integrated Clinical Hub into our emergency control room, whereby paramedics are in a position to assess by telephone the clinical needs of patients and decide the most appropriate response for each.”

The spokesman said NIAS works closely with emergency departments to ensure the early release of crews to make them available to respond to calls in the community, with an escalation process in place in relation to so-called category one calls, the highest level of emergency responses.

He said NIAS would welcome engagement with local representatives to discuss the rationale behind the planned pilot.