Agenda item

Mr T. Butcher, Assistant Director for Quality and Improvement at North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, presented the Committee with an overview of the content of the Trust’s completed Quality Account for 2013 / 2014.

He began by explaining that the Quality Account was focussed on quality as a whole and not just response times, with a view to delivering the right care at the right time and in the right place.

The Committee was informed that 2013/14 had been a very successful year for the Trust. Blackpool in particular had achieved ambulance response times that were amongst the best in the region, although it was acknowledged that in certain remote areas of Cumbria (for example), constantly achieving response time targets remained a prevailing challenge. The Trust was in a sound financial position and a new Chief Executive had been appointed, along with a number of new non-executive director roles. The foundation trust application was currently on hold, pending the revision of certain governance issues, although the process was about to be restarted.

Mr Butcher informed the Committee that four additional areas had been identified for quality and improvement during 2013/14, as follows:

•          Improving care for patients with mental health issues

•          Safer care closer to home (falls prevention)

•          Management of patient waiting times on arrival at hospital

•          Isolated lower limb fracture.

Mr Butcher reported good progress in relation to each category.

The Committee went on to receive information on the Clinical Performance Indicator targets, all of which had been exceeded, with the exception of Asthma Management and Pain Management, each of which had failed by only a small margin. The targets for all the indicators would be increased by 5% for the 2014/15 year. The non-emergency patient transport services statistics showed more variable results, although the targets were now showing significant signs of improvement. The Trust acknowledged that problems had been experienced during the early stages of the transport contracts.

In terms of patient experience, there was now an increased focus on gathering information from all patients, including patient transport services, emergency and urgent care. Continued high levels of satisfaction were reported, with over 97% of completed patient surveys showing that patients either agreed or strongly agreed that they had been treated with dignity, respect, kindness and compassion. Complaint levels across the North West region had remained constant at approximately 2500 per year, with the majority relating to waiting times.

The presentation concluded with an outline of the quality improvement areas for 2014/15, together with the anticipated challenges faced within a tightening financial position.

Mr Butcher answered a number of questions from the Committee. He explained that in terms of staffing issues, there was a shortage of paramedics and a lot of work was underway to remedy the situation. The Committee questioned the time that staff might spend on completing clinical performance indicator forms, thus reducing their time spent dealing with patient issues. Mr Butcher emphasised the imperative need to maintain proper health records, although there was a debate as to whether paper or electronic versions were the most effective.

In view of the tightening budget situation, the Committee asked Mr Butcher whether there would be a need to consider the more sophisticated management of ambulances in the future. In response, he explained that some people will call an ambulance because they do not know what else to do. There were in fact very few hoax or time wasting calls, although certain did appear to know exactly what to say to obtain an ambulance, rather than receive advice on a more appropriate form of service. In that regard, the ambulance service was working with other agencies to reduce the number of frequent callers.

The Committee agreed to note the presentation and report.

Background papers: None.