East Midlands Ambulance Service significantly improved response and hadover times in recent months Lincolnshire County Council hear
Significant improvement in an ambulance service has sparked hope for its future.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has seen a significant improvement in recent months, and £23 million investment planned for 2022/23 will further enhance the service, a health scrutiny meeting of Lincolnshire County Council was told.
Previous months had seen an “almost exponential rise” in category one calls, with response times for the most severe incidents increasing by nine minutes since May 2021 and nearly an hour for category two (C2) incidents.
However, a recent report indicated a noticeable improvement in performance from April 2023.
This was down to increased resources, reduced sickness and absence, shorter pre-hospital handover times, and an increase in private ambulance provision.
Despite concerns about the high attrition rate among staff, councillors acknowledged the significant strides made by EMAS, particularly in response times since December 2022.
Sue Cousland from EMAS highlighted the recruitment strategy, and said: “We have an open advert for both paramedics and technicians on a rolling programme for most of the year.”
The positive impact of the Clinical Navigant Data Initiative at Lincoln County and Pilgrim Hospital Boston was also noted.
She added:, “Lincolnshire will always be a challenge to be a high-speed performance team on, but you can really see the improvements we’ve had in hospital handover position.”
Charmaine Morgan praised the staff, and said: “They are on the frontline. And they have no idea what they’re going into every single time they receive a call. So I do think we did an absolutely incredible job.”
Sarah Parkin also commended the EMAS staff for their response to yesterday’s attack in Nottingham in which three people were killed.
“It takes a special kind of person to go towards that kind of incident rather than run away from it,” she said.
With the planned investment EMAS is poised for further improvements, particularly for category two calls, which involve potentially serious conditions requiring rapid assessment and urgent transport.
