In response to the National Audit Office report on NHS Ambulance Services we support the statement issued by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) of which our Acting Chief Executive Richard Henderson is a member.
The report highlights challenges and pressures faced nationally which echo the challenges we are managing and responding to locally.
Richard Henderson, Acting Chief Executive at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We play a vital role in the delivery of urgent and emergency care to patients across the East Midlands. To ensure that we provide a safe, quality service we need to be resourced appropriately, this includes having the right staffing and skill levels, vehicles, equipment and finances.
“In partnership with our commissioners (the people who fund our service) an independent capacity and demand review was done to look at the resources and finances we need to provide a quality service that meets the growing demand. The output of the review has positively influenced our contract agreement for 2017/18 allowing for further investment in our service whilst recognising there still remains a financial and resourcing challenge which impacts our ability to achieve the national performance standards.
“The National Audit Office report notes the many challenges faced by ambulance services across the UK, and that they require joint working across NHS and social care to seek improvement.
“Despite these challenges we are continuing to progress our improvement plans including to proactively recruit to our frontline and invest in new ambulances to expand our fleet all of which will support us to provide quality services for our patients.”