Ambulance service misses 999 targets

TARGETS TO answer 999 ambulance calls within 10 seconds have been missed significantly, it has emerged.

Figures published by the Scottish Ambulance Service show that on average just 66.6% of people telephoning the emergency number for medical help got a response within the target time.

Last year new standards were brought in stating 90% of emergency calls needed to be picked up within that time frame.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said they are now hitting the targets following a £1.3 million investment.

According to figures, the worst performance since the target started being measured was in May last year, when just 61.2% of calls were answered within 10 seconds. The best effort came in November as 73% were picked up in time.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “There are few things less reassuring when a person is in desperate need than the sound of a phone ringing out.

“If we are to get ambulances to the scene of emergencies as quickly as possible, it’s essential these calls are picked up almost as soon as they are made. The target of 90% is there for a reason, and it’s bitterly disappointing it is being missed so spectacularly.”

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: “If it is an emergency, an accident, and someone’s life is at risk, that person is getting stressed out until their call is actually answered.” A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “Call handling for 999 calls was introduced in the last year as a new target.

“Performance has steadily improved and is now on target at 90.4%.

“This is the result of a strategy to enhance Ambulance Control Centres with an investment of £1.3 million in new technology, additional management and analytical support, as well as a realignment of shift patterns.” In its report, the Scottish Ambulance Service said call demand had increased by 1.7% compared to the previous year, and the poor figures could in some way have been down to changing shift patterns at control centres.

The news comes just weeks after the Scottish Conservatives revealed thousands of calls to the new police 101 number have gone unanswered since its launch.