Ambulances at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on a busy evening. PHOTO BY SIMON FINLAY

Ambulance Watch: MPs urge NHS trust board members to consider their positions

By Adam Gretton Health correspondent, Health correspondent Friday, March 15, 2013
11:56 AM

Norfolk and Suffolk MPs yesterday called on ambulance trust board members to consider their positions over ongoing performance issues.

Nine East Anglian MPs met with bosses of the under-fire East of England Ambulance Service in Westminster to quiz bosses over what they were doing to resolve slow response times.

The MPs said they were pleased to hear that former NHS Norfolk head Andrew Morgan was set to continue his work within the ambulance trust as interim chief executive for at least the next six months.

However, they called on the board to reflect on their roles ahead of the publication of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report following an unannounced inspection.

Three Norfolk MPs - Henry Bellingham, Chloe Smith, and Simon Wright - and two Suffolk MPs - Peter Aldous and Therese Coffey - met with the NHS trust chairman, deputy chairman, chief executive, and operations director.

The East of England Ambulance Service is supposed to respond to 75pc of the most urgent life-threatening calls within eight minutes, but that figure is currently only 73pc and in Norfolk it is even lower at 64pc.

Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey, who chaired yesterday’s meeting, said it was good news that the trust was working with other ambulance services to improve after it emerged that Anthony Marsh, the CEO of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, had been parachuted in by the Department of Health to carry out an independent review.

“I welcome the decision made to bring in Anthony Marsh and learning from other areas, though I wonder why this hasn’t happened before. The new chief executive is working hard to restore morale of front-line staff and add more ambulances.”

“Members of the board need to reflect on their own accountability for where we are after what has happened in the last few years. A culture of hitting regional targets but not focusing on each county feels like hitting the target and missing the point,” she said.

Local MPs will meet with health minister Earl Howe in Westminster on Monday evening to find out what the Department of Health is doing to address the situation at the East of England Ambulance Service.

Norwich North MP Chloe Smith said yesterday’s meeting with the ambulance officials was useful, but some flaws had not yet been fixed. She added that she had written to the CQC over ongoing ambulance handover delays at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, which was highlighted last Wednesday when 17 ambulances were queued up outside A&E.

She said: “I think the [ambulance trust] board need to reflect very carefully on what they have done to date and whether they have things in hand. The CQC report is out very shortly and I think that will bear very difficult news for the trust.”

“The ambulance staff are doing such a good job and the chief executive is doing some positive work with staff morale, but there is much more to do and it is urgent,” she said.

North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham added that the slow ambulance turnarounds at the N&N were “unacceptable”.

“The good news is that Andrew Morgan is staying on for another six months at least and he is getting to grip with things. He is a ‘can do’ chief executive and making every effort to tackle the mistakes of the past.

“It is unacceptable that such a large number of ambulances are waiting more than an hour at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and it needs strong management on both sides to solve it,” he said.

Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, added: “The board need to reflect very carefully on their duties and responsibilities and whether they are in the best position to give Andrew Morgan their full support. He is making steps to address things, but there is concern about the time it is taking to address them.”

Norwich South MP Simon Wright said that the high level of staff sickness and low morale at the NHS trust needed to be addressed.

“It is encouraging that the interim chief executive has a good feel of the issues and what the problems are. We wait to see the CQC report and how critical that report is and at that point the board have to be very clear in how they seek to address possible failings,” he said.

Elizabeth Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, is due to meet Mr Morgan today to seek assurances after Norfolk coroner William Armstrong accused the ambulance trust of “systemic and individual” failings following the death of 27-year-old Catherine Barton who died in a crash near Thetford in 2011.

“I am pleased that the government has brought in the CEO of West Midlands Ambulance Service to look closely at the operational procedures of the East of England Ambulance Association. Decisive action needs to be taken,” she said.

8 comments

The board is at fault, they clearly lack the skills needed to deal with the level of cuts and saving targets imposed by Lamb and the rest of the doublespeakers at Westminster. MPs saying heads must roll is disingenuousness at its finest.

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Police Commissioner ???

Friday, March 15, 2013
That's what they (the board) are there for - a highly-paid sponge to soak up flak that would more correctly be directed at the hypocritical MPs mentioned in this article. The only way to make the cuts workable and preserve front-line services would be wholesale trimming of back-room cronies. These MPs would do no such thing if presented with the same situation in which the board finds itself. Therefore no surprise that the board is attacking the front-line to preserve the empire. After all they are "all in it together", that is snouts in the public-money-trough.

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Mr Cameron Isaliar

Friday, March 15, 2013
"MPs urge NHS trust board members to consider their positions..." NO. It should read "MP's tell NHS trust board members to start looking for another job".

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"V"

Friday, March 15, 2013
I was in involved in an incident where a 97 year old lady was thought to have collapsed in her house in my village earlier this week. Her grand-daughter and I could not get access, and with no sound or house lights we called the police - who responded very quickly. The lady is deaf and partially blind but I assume when she saw the lights outside she started calling for help. The police hearing this and even before they had gained access, called for an ambulance, and one has to hope that a 97 year old in obvious distress and unkown medical condition might have been a fairly high priority for a response from the EEAST. If it was it didn't show - we did not get a first responder or paramedic and the ambulance took well over an hour to arrive. In the meantime the police had gained access and found her lying on the floor having had a fall, but apparently without any visible serious injury - just as well given the time for professional help to arrive. When they did arrive the crew did a very thorough job of checking and re-assuring her, and fortunately she did not need to join the A&E queue at the NNUH. I wonder where an incident such as this sits in meeting the targets - or does a police presence count as the target having been met?

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JB

Friday, March 15, 2013
Norman Lamb said it was absolutely his responsibility to ensure the ambulance service in our area were up to scratch. He said he would not pass the buck. So Mr Lamb, are you calling for more of the board to go like the rest of these MPs?

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omnishambles

Friday, March 15, 2013
Norman, see my last posting. It is no good blaming cuts when some staff, especially some management, are to blame. It is like saying the problems at Stafford are only due to cuts. NHS funding has doubled in the last 15 years without services being twice as good.

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andy

Friday, March 15, 2013
It seems to me that if the senior individuals in the ambulance service are being asked to consider their positions, so should the N&N Hospital senior management!! They must be part of the problem by delaying ambulances for so long. If ambulances are queued up outside A&E logically they cannot be available to respond elsewhere. There are other issues too. A couple of years ago I had an aunt who became seriously ill and despite the efforts of the ambulance crew the hospital insisted that she had to go through A&E rather than being admitted to a ward. Again this all took time which prevented the ambulance being available elsewhere. She died three weeks later despite the best efforts of those on the ward when she did finally get there.

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andy

Friday, March 15, 2013
Perhaps more could be gained if the MPs resigned. They above all are responsible for the NHS. Cuts and more cuts imposed by parliament are the reason that the system is breaking down.

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norman hall

Friday, March 15, 2013