PRESS RELEASE : End longer ambulance waits for stroke, say Welsh Conservatives [October 2022]

The press release issued by Welsh Conservatives on 26 October 2022.

The Welsh Conservatives will call on the Senedd to end the system where strokes are not considered for the most urgent ambulances.

Should the Party be successful in its debate today, the Welsh Parliament will instruct the Health and Social Care Committee to review the categorisation of strokes as an “amber-call” level emergency as opposed to a “red-call”.

There is a Welsh Government target of reaching 65% of red-call patients within eight minutes, and are prioritised above other cases. It has not been reached for over two years and September saw the worst rate for this on record, with only 50% being reached in that time.

However, in 2015, the Labour Government downgraded suspected stroke ambulance response times to “amber”, with no target time for arrival at all. Last month, a staggering 64% of amber call patients – took over an hour to reach, with only 19% arriving within 30 minutes.

An estimated 7,400 people a year in Wales experience a stroke, the fourth leading cause of death in Wales. Strokes are a condition where the “golden hour” is vital – any later than 60 minutes to receive definitive treatment and the likelihood of serious or irreversible harm significantly increases.

England’s ambulance services, which has a specific category for suspected stroke patients, had a mean response time of 47 minutes and 59 seconds.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Mark Isherwood MS, who will lead the debate, said:

“Although the people of Wales are experiencing the longest treatment waiting lists, ambulance delays, and A&E waits in Britain, those suffering from a stroke have been left in turmoil for seven years as they have not been prioritised by the ambulance service.

“This is no fault whatsoever of hard-working and skilled ambulance technicians and paramedics, but the Labour Government who decided they would stand a better chance of hitting their targets if strokes were not included as a serious enough condition to be registered as a red-call.

“This situation cannot stand, which is why we want the Senedd to recognise that in keeping strokes as a downgraded emergency, the chances of surviving and recovering from one are severely undermined.

“Every day we wait to do this is one where someone having a stroke is put in danger and while we need Labour to get a grip on the NHS for the long term after failing staff and patients for so long, this is something that could be done sooner and provide reassurance for everyone now.”