PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
A19 TARGET FOR AMBULANCE TRUSTS (18 December 2012)

That this House is concerned by the way that some ambulance trusts are meeting the A19 target; notes that the definition of the A19 target is the total number of category A calls which resulted in a fully equipped ambulance vehicle, able to transport the patient in a clinically safe manner, arriving at the scene of the incident within 19 minutes irrespective of location in 95 per cent of cases; further notes that this target was set for the transportation of category A patients and is being claimed routinely on the arrival of any rapid response vehicle (RRV) including cars; recognises that in most cases category A patients are the most critically ill or injured, and as such, most likely to need rapid transport; further recognises that most of these patients are unable to be transported in a car; calls on the Government to encourage ethical behaviour from ambulance trusts, including the East of England Ambulance Trust, which is manning RRVs over ambulances in order to achieve targets; further recognises that this has created delays and poor clinical outcomes for patients, particularly stroke patients in Norfolk; further calls on the Government to give clearer direction to all ambulance trusts, for the benefit and protection of vulnerable patients and to reflect the nature of the target, which is to record the percentage of calls for which the actual transportable resource arrives within 19 minutes; and further calls on the Government to review this matter urgently so that the A19 target can only be met by the actual transporting resource.

Sponsored by:
Simon Wright (Liberal Democrat)