Last week I accompanied some of our incredible London paramedics on a shift to see first-hand the challenges they’re facing.
I was impressed by their dedication and professionalism – the London Ambulance Service has dealt with high demand across its 111 and 999 services since the end of the pandemic, with crews consistently rising to the challenge. In August, workers responded to more than 10,000 life-threatening incidents, offering thousands of people vital care.
Nationally, we know current levels of performance aren’t acceptable, despite the efforts of our hardworking ambulance staff – no-one should have to wait longer than necessary for emergency care. That is why we have set out Our Plan For Patients to improve care this winter and next.
As part of this, the NHS will boost call handler numbers to almost 5,000 111 staff in and 2,500 in 999 call rooms to handle higher demand. The NHS is already investing £170 million this year to boost ambulance performance and upgrade the ambulance fleet. The plan also sets out an extra £500 million to speed up discharge and free up beds – easing pressure in A&E and getting ambulances back on the road more quickly.
I spoke to staff at the London Ambulance Service about how they are using innovative ways of working to address these pressures and continue providing high quality care for patients. This includes increasing the number of ambulance crews on the road, working to reduce patient handover delays at hospitals and using more specialist clinicians to support teams answering 999 calls.
The London Ambulance Service has already worked with Queen’s Hospital and Whipps Cross Hospital to create new Ambulance Receiving Centres. Instead of waiting in an ambulance outside the hospital, patients are taken into these dedicated areas in the emergency department where they are offered quicker access to care.
It has also purchased all-electric motorbikes, fast response cars and lighter emergency ambulances – with the LAS set to have one of the largest electric response fleets in the NHS.
We are also working to improve access to GPs so fewer people need to attend A&E when they could get help from primary care. All of this will boost emergency service performance in the capital and help Londoners get the care they need.
