Are ambulance response times really so Fast?

Now, it heavily stresses that the sooner you make the emergency call the better and time is of the essence.

So, firstly I would like to ask whoever is in charge of JESSC nowadays, if I call 999 for a suspected stroke victim, how long is it before an ambulance is despatched?

Does your despatcher have to go through the ridiculous drop down menu farce before an ambulance is sent?

How are response times calculated. Is it from the inception of the call or is it from when the despatcher actually hits the button to send the ambulance?

I suspect that the latter will be in operation to massage the response times and make them look good as it probably takes a couple of minutes to go through the rigmarole.

I recall when I was a voluntary St John Ambulance man, if the ambulance wasn’t on its way within 60 seconds of the siren sounding the chief officer, Reg Blanchford, would want to know why, so effectively the response times we have today are rubbish by comparison.

So much for progress.

TREVOR HOCKEY,

Trev’s Motorcycles.

Editor’s footnote: a joint response from JESCC and the St John Ambulance and Rescue Service:

The Joint Emergency Services Control Centre handles emergency ambulance calls using a medical priority dispatch system – the same system used by many ambulance services around the world, including London, where over 5,000 calls are handled each day.

The appropriate response is deployed according to the answers given to a series of questions which appear on the computer screen in front of the emergency controller. The speed of dispatch of the ambulance is based on the seriousness of the patient’s condition.

The questions will quickly identify a patient suffering from a stroke by using the Fast test: checking for facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems. A stroke is a medical emergency – early recognition and early medical attention can make a significant difference to a patient’s future quality of life, or even survival. If the symptoms of stroke are identified an ambulance can be dispatched immediately.

The St John Emergency Ambulance Service attends an average of 10 suspected stroke cases every month. Worryingly, a recent audit suggested that there can sometimes be a long delay between the onset of a stroke, people recognising the signs and then calling 999 for emergency medical help. If you suspect that someone may be having a stroke, do not delay in calling 999.

For immediately life-threatening calls, the response time is calculated from the time the call is answered to the time the first resource arrives on scene.

These new procedures for call handling are helping to improve the outcomes for patients. First aid advice is given for many different life-threatening conditions, which allows the caller to give potentially life-saving treatment while the ambulance is on its way. In the event of a cardiac arrest, for example, the caller will be given instructions on how to commence cardio pulmonary resuscitation and given the location of nearest defibrillator. It has been proven that fast ‘hands on chest’ time saves lives and this system gives the best chances of survival to cardiac arrest patients in Guernsey.

Emergency services resources are not limitless and therefore calls need to be prioritised accordingly. The St John Emergency Ambulance Service is experiencing a demand which is increasing annually. Ambulance resources are often being deployed to emergencies while away from Ambulance headquarters and control procedures used many years ago are no longer appropriate for a modern ambulance service.