A leading figure in the Welsh NHS has described the pressures that the system is currently under as “worrying for all”, as latest figures show that nearly half of the most serious ambulance callouts in Gwent missed the national eight-minute response target in September.

In September, there were three separate incidents in which ambulances took between 30 and 60 minutes to arrive to red callouts – the category for the most serious of incidents.

All told, just 55 per cent of red callouts were responded to within eight minutes, falling short of the Welsh Government’s national target for the Welsh Ambulance Service, which stands at 65 per cent.

But, responding to the news, Darren Hughes, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, claimed that the problem with the ambulance service response times is a symptom of the overall pressures that the NHS is currently facing, “particularly in urgent and emergency care”.

Continuing, Mr Hughes cited several reasons why the NHS is currently under strain – both due to covid and the fallout from the pandemic, to other pressures on the system.

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Statement from the Welsh NHS Confederation in full

In a statement, Mr Hughes said: “The pressures the NHS are currently facing, particularly in urgent and emergency care, are worrying for all.

“Recent figures show the impact that the enormous pressures on the NHS are having on ambulance waits outside of Emergency Departments and how this effects the experience of patients.

 “It’s important to understand that this is a whole-system issue. There are many factors affecting NHS capacity; from staff absences because of Covid, or suspected Covid, to more people on wards and in intensive care units needing treatment for Covid and higher demand for other conditions.

“The social care system is also under unprecedented pressure, meaning the NHS is unable to discharge patients from hospital and therefore has much lower capacity to treat incoming patients.

“The NHS in Wales is working relentlessly to cope with current levels of demand and staff are doing all they can to ensure everyone waiting for care is seen as soon as possible. We thank them and the public for doing all they can to support the NHS.”

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How did we get here?

According to the Welsh Conservatives, the issues surrounding the delayed response times extends beyond the pandemic.

Russell George, the party's shadow health minister in the Senedd, said the crisis is due to political decisions rather than the performance of paramedics. He has called for pressure to be taken off other parts of the NHS to allow ambulance crews more breathing space.

He said: “The crisis affecting Welsh hospitals extends far beyond the buildings themselves as a shortage of beds and staff means overcrowded A&E departments and queues of ambulances outside, resulting in unacceptably long waits for ambulances, something people do not ask for lightly.

“Paramedics work incredibly hard, which explains why the ambulance service has higher staff sickness rates than any health board, and deserve recognition of their dedication in such challenging circumstances. But we must remember that NHS exists to provide dignified treatment for patients."