Problems with ambulance service are much wider
SIR,
I write to clarify some issues around your article 'Monmouth's ambulance position explained' of 9th February.
As your local independent health 'watchdog', Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council has long been concerned that Minor Injuries Units across Gwent have not been able to deliver a service which the name implies and the public has a right to expect.
As you picked up from the minutes of a recent Monmouthshire Area Committee, we feel the description First Aid Unit might more properly describe the current service offered.
That is not to say we are happy with the status quo.
Monmouth Town is at some distance from Accident and Emergency departments and for the convenience and peace of mind of local people we need sustainable and accessible local arrangements for treating minor injuries, which would also take some of the pressure from those major centres.
We were pleased therefore that the Aneurin Bevan Health Board agreed last autumn to review the service across Gwent and come up with better alternatives.
We are still awaiting those proposals and my council has recommended that any change in service delivery should be the subject of public engagement.
Dr MS Matharu is reported as being critical of ambulance response times and he is surely not alone.
Even before the winter pressures they were a cause of concern.
The service is demand-led and its performance is highly dependent on other parts of NHS doing their job, such as hospitals being able to quickly take responsibility for patients delivered to hospital and release ambulance crews.
Their workload is also influenced by the success of GPs and the primary care service in supporting people with chronic health conditions in the community without them becoming emergencies.
We need to look at alternatives to the ambulance service having to take people to hospital, perhaps more fully utilising their own paramedic skills.
There is surely also a place for effective minor injuries provision.
We know a large proportion of people the ambulance service delivers to Accident and Emergency departments are discharged without ever having needed the specialist services they have to offer – that needs to change.
The problems with the ambulance service are, therefore, much wider than the future of the local ambulance station though we recognise people are understandably concerned.
Our understanding is indeed that there is no intention to remove an ambulance presence from Monmouth but as Dr Matharu implies, this is only half a story.
Speculation thrives in a vacuum. It will only be addressed when firm plans are shared with the public.
Catherine O'Sullivan
(Chief officer, Aneurin Bevan
Community Health Council)