Ambulance trusts ‘fail to meet response times’

Ambulance trusts are failing to meet government targets on response times, the Department of Health has revealed.

Furthermore, one in five trusts misreported response times to make it appear that targets for had been met.

The Department of Health conducted an audit of 31 ambulance services in England, finding that six did not follow official guidelines, using techniques to alter recorded response times.

Some of the trusts failed to start the clock when the 999 emergency call was received, while others had not synchronised the clocks used by paramedics with those on the switchboard. Another method was to categorise the urgency of the call after the response time was recorded, to ensure that the targets were met.

The trusts involved in the incidents were West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cumbria, West Midlands, the West Country and Staffordshire, although most have since been merged into larger trusts with different names.

Lord Warner, the health minister, commented: “The Department of Health takes misreporting of NHS performance data extremely seriously and is determined to ensure transparency and consistency in reporting.”

However, the minister did state that patient safety was not compromised during the incidents, while all trusts are now correctly reporting information.

Lord Warner stated that steps would be taken to tackle the problem, with disciplinary action where necessary and follow-up audits to keep track of the problem trusts.

The department has also accepted and intends to implement the recommendations in last year?s review of the ambulance service, Taking Healthcare to the Patient, which contains changes to performance reporting.

© Adfero Ltd