Kirsty Williams
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has responded to the latest ambulance response times, branding them “a national disgrace”.
Figures released today show that, in May, 54.1% of emergency responses to Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls arrived at the scene within 8 minutes – down from 56.7% in April 2014 and from 62.5% in May 2013 – and way below the target of 65%. In England and Scotland the target for the same priority call is 75%.
These figures represent an 8.4% drop year-on-year compared to May 2013 last year.
Commenting Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:
“These figures are a national disgrace. Targets aren’t being met. Ambulance response times are getting worse. Year after a year, month after month, this situation is getting worse but the Welsh Labour Government is still failing to do anything about it.
“The Welsh Labour Government’s excuses over these terrible ambulance response times must be well rehearsed by now. Will they blame the weather this time, or will they take responsibility for this disgraceful situation and act?
“This constant barrage of bad news can’t be helping the morale of our paramedics, who are working as hard as they can in tough circumstances. We need clear, decisive action from the Welsh Labour Government – and we need it now, before even more lives are put at risk under Welsh Labour’s watch.”
