Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Cllrs Baker and Biggs.

Mr A T Amos declared an Other Disclosable Interest in Agenda Item 5 as two relatives were employed as paramedics by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Mrs F M Oborski declared an Interest in Agenda Item 5 as she was a Member of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 10 January 2017). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

To follow.

The Minutes from the previous meeting were not yet available, and would be confirmed at the next meeting.

In attendance for this discussion were:

West Midlands Ambulance Service Foundation Trust

Dr Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive Officer

Michelle Brotherton, General Manager for the West Mercia Area

The Chairman welcomed the representatives from West Midlands Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (WMASFT).

Dr Marsh gave a presentation to update the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) on the work of WMASFT, including firmographics, vision, achievements, national and local performance/costs, activity growth, hospital transformation, hospital handover, Community Response Schemes and innovation plans.

A map indicated the diverse area covered by WMASFT, which included Worcestershire. The Service attended over 532,000 emergency patient journeys annually, and served a population of 5.6 million, over 5000 square miles, of which was 80% rural. With a budget of around £250 million, the service received 3,500 999 calls per day, had around 1000 vehicles, 5000 staff, 800 volunteers and 4 Air Ambulance Helicopters.

Worcestershire now had two Hubs in Bromsgrove and Worcester, 7 community ambulance stations and a network of community response posts.

There was a clear vision of 'Delivering the right patient care, in the right place, at the right time, through a skilled and committed workforce, in partnership with local health economies'.

Dr Marsh highlighted the WMASFT's achievements, which included:

·       only Ambulance Service to achieve each of the national emergency access targets for 2015/16, and also the best performer for each

·       only Ambulance Service to be ranked at Segment One of the Single Oversight Framework

·       top performing Ambulance Service in the Country

·       one of four Ambulance Trusts to achieve statutory financial duties

·       no paramedic vacancies (there were around 2,500 nationally) – through working alongside local universities to recruit and train local people

·       lowest sickness absence rate in the Country

·       highest paramedic skill mix ratio in the Country – included on 90% of ambulances

·       best fleet in the Country

·       lowest number of calls waiting, with over a million 999 calls a year

·       Third lowest cost per incidence

Overall activity continued to increase, with New Years' Day 2017 being the busiest day on record, and the annual growth for 2016/17 was projected to be well above the current figure of 3.8%. There was a correlation between colder weather and increased demand for issues such as respiratory problems and falls, but 2016/17 had not been that cold so far.

Dr Marsh was confident of being able to maintain efficiency savings whilst ensuring statutory duties were met, and in real terms around £50million had been saved through cost improvement plans since 2012/13.

The work involved to make these achievements should not be under estimated; WMASFT was very proud but in no way complacent.

WMASFT continued to be part of transformation plans for Worcestershire's Acute Hospital Services although there were undeniable pressures and the transfer of services from Redditch to Worcester at times challenged operational ambulance performance due to increased journey time and hospital handover delays.

Hospital handovers were a real problem for every Ambulance Service across the country and Dr Marsh was involved in national work on this. Handovers in Worcestershire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 831.

This item was deferred until the next meeting.