Llandovery councillor blasts ambulance response times (From South Wales Guardian)

Llandovery councillor blasts ambulance response times

6:20am Saturday 2nd June 2012 in Ammanford news

A LLANDOVERY councillor has blasted ambulance response times after claims a man who collapsed in a town street was left waiting for 55 minutes.

Cllr Robin Ennion told colleagues passers-by rang for an ambulance when the man “keeled over” with low blood pressure near the King’s Head pub.

“It just seems ridiculous to me that an ambulance crew go on shift here in Llandovery and immediately drive out to the other side of Brecon where they remain on standby,” he said.

Cllr Gina Jones said there was never a crew in Llandovery or Llandeilo at the same time.

“They are frequently taken from this area to cover another one.”

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Ennion maintained the incident was not an isolated case.

“It’s not the first time that someone taken ill in Llandovery has experienced an excessive wait,” he said.

“No doubt the Welsh Ambulance Service will maintain the town has adequate cover – but I just don’t buy it.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Using various call information, we are able to identify the areas where we expect 999 calls tocomeinandmakeevery effort to ensure our resources are positioned in the most suitable locations to respond to these calls as quickly and safely as possible. If an ambulance is taken out of an area to deal with an incident, then resources are moved around to provide cover.

“We are more than willing to discuss the issues further with the councillors or the patient referred to should they wish to contact us directly.”