Agenda and minutes

To receive disclosures of personal interests from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest;and

2.     Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when theyleave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the following declarations were made pertaining to the agenda:

County Borough Councillor S A Bradwick – “I am Chair of the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service and I have opened stations where the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust have been based.”

County Borough Councillor C Middle – “As a reservist, I will potentially be working with WAST”

County Borough Councillor G Hopkins – “I am a member of the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board”

Note: A declaration of interest was made later in the meeting as follows:

County Borough Councillor K Morgan – “I work for Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board”

To receive representatives from the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, providing Members with opportunity for discussion and updates in respect of Winter pressures and other strategic issues.

The Presiding Officer introduced the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust  representatives and advised Members that they will be covering items as indicated on the agenda.

The Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Mr Jason Killens introduced himself and his colleague Ms Estelle Hitchon, Director of Partnerships and Engagement. Through the aid of PowerPoint slides the Chief Executive presented an overview of key matters under the following headings:

·       EMS Roster Review

-Senior Stakeholder Briefing

-Cwm Taf Morgannwg (including RCT)

·       Executive Summary

·       Demand Data & Forecasting

·       Extensive Staff Engagement

·       Impact on Staff

·       Patient Safety

·       Clinical Outcomes

·       Clinical Benefits of CHARU

·       Quality & Data Performance

·       Emergency Medical Services

·       Patient Safety Incidents

·       Background

·       Emergency Medical Services – Demand & Capacity Review

·       Review Findings

·       Re-Rostering

·       CTM

·       Looking to the Future

The Leader of the Council thanked the representatives of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust for their presentation and virtual attendance at the council meeting and he paid thanks to the service and its staff for their dedication during the pandemic.

The Leader raised a query relating to ringfencing and he referenced a period of time when RCT had the worst ambulance response times in the whole of Wales and when statistics proved that ambulances called to other areas outside the county borough to attend a call, would not return to RCT which meant that the county had a poor response. The Leader asked when did the ringfencing cease?

The Leader also commented on his recent conversations with ambulance staff during his visit to the picket lines, when concerns were raised by them in  respect of swapping from the rapid response vehicles to the Charu vehicles and the types of calls they were handling. Staff welfare had also been discussed in respect of changes to the rotas and cases when ambulance staff are unable to leave their shifts on time, often having to wait many hours to be relieved from their duties. Despite staff commitment to patient safety, this was a concern for many.

The Leader sought clarification on the inability to meet the target for red calls, and he asked the Chief Executive when is the county borough likely to have a safe and reliable ambulance service.

The Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust responded to issues raised and commented on the frustration at losing a third of the fleet to delays at the emergency department when patients, who are medically fit for discharge, are unable to leave hospital due to the lack of social care or other reasons which are within control of the Health Board. He also acknowledged the consequences in terms of preventing staff from finishing shifts and taking breaks on time.

The Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust advised that there has been investment and the ambulance crews have increased by 400 over the last three to four years, however, 253 of those have ‘rightsized’ the structural gap with 100 staff who have been funded non-recurrently by Government in the last calendar year. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.