High demand for ambulances in Swanage and the wider Purbeck area means average waiting times are now far longer than the national guidelines.
A newly released Freedom of Information request, obtained by Swanage News, shows the average waiting time for even the most urgent life-threatening cases is now more than double what it should be in Swanage.
For less urgent emergencies, waiting for a double crewed ambulance can run at more than four times the national guidelines.
Deterioration in response times
This is a dramatic deterioration in response times compared to two years ago in Swanage and a reflection of the increased pressure on the whole of the NHS during the pandemic.
A spokesperson for South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST) said this was a problem not limited to Swanage and Purbeck – but a regional and national issue across the health system.
Waiting times for ambulances exceed national guidlelines
Significant increase in demand
The Freedom of Information request notes that demand for Category 1 and Category 2 calls has ‘increased significantly’, with the ambulance trust seeing the highest levels of demand for these categories over the last three years.
Category 1 calls are from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries and demand an immediate response, such as in the case of a cardiac arrest or major allergic reaction.
Category 2 emergencies include serious conditions like a stroke or chest pain and are deemed to require rapid attention.
An average 15 minute wait for most urgent patients
The figures for October 2021 show that Category 1 calls in Swanage took an average of 15 minutes to respond to, against national guidelines of 7 minutes on average, and 90 percent within 15 minutes. That compares with just over 6 and a half minutes in 2019.
For Purbeck, the figure for Category 1 calls was 11 minutes, up from 7 minutes two years earlier.
An ambulance works with the coastguard during an incident at Kimmeridge
Response times significantly longer than compared to two years ago
In Swanage, the response time for Category 2 calls has doubled over two years, from nearly 37 minutes in 2019, to one hour and 13 minutes in 2021. The average is supposed to be 18 minutes, with 90 percent of cases reached within 40 minutes.
In the wider Purbeck, the response time for Category 2 calls has gone up from 28 minutes in 2019, to 1 hour and twelve minutes in 2021.
Cases deemed to be Category 3 that still involve urgent needs like pain relief and require transfer to acute facilities, take an average of 3 hours and forty minutes to respond to in Swanage, 4 hours and 9 minutes in Purbeck. Ninety per cent are meant to be dealt with within 2 hours.
The response time for Category 2 emergencies has doubled in Swanage
“We are sorry”
A South Western Ambulance Service spokesperson said:
“We are sorry that the waits for ambulances to arrive are longer than we would expect, and we apologise for this wholeheartedly.
“The ambulance service is extremely busy and we continue to prioritise the most clinically urgent cases. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their patience and understanding, and our staff for their focus, continued commitment and hard work.”
The future of Swanage ambulance car is under review
Ambulance car
The news comes at a time when the future of the ambulance car based in Swanage, hangs in the balance.
Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which funds the ambulance car, is currently reviewing the car’s future.
In March 2020, Dorset CCG said it was planning to withdraw the service, but local protests, combined with the Covid crisis, meant the car was given a stay of execution.
The ambulance car, usually staffed by a paramedic, does not have to travel long distances taking patients to hospital in Poole, Bournemouth or Dorchester, so is effectively ‘tethered’ to the local area and can often get to patients in Purbeck, quicker than an ambulance.
Ambulance responding to a Category 1 emergency in Swanage
Average ambulance response time within Swanage
Category 1
- Oct 2019: 6 min 41 sec
- Oct 2020: 12 min 55 sec
- Oct 2021: 15 min 11 sec
Category 2
- Oct 2019: 36 min 51 sec
- Oct 2020: 43 min 19 sec
- Oct 2021: 1 hour 13 min 14 sec
Category 3
- Oct 2019: 1 hour 17 min 39 sec
- Oct 2020: 1 hour 15 min 50 sec
- Oct 2021: 3 hour 40 min 54 sec
Average ambulance response time within Purbeck
Category 1
- Oct 2019: 7 min 19 sec
- Oct 2020: 9 min 18 sec
- Oct 2021: 11 min 19 sec
Category 2
- Oct 2019: 28 min 06 sec
- Oct 2020: 27 min 13 sec
- Oct 2021: 1 hour 12 min 10 sec
Category 3
- Oct 2019: 1 hour 17 min 29 sec
- Oct 2020: 1 hour 15 min 45 sec
- Oct 2021: 4 hour 9 min 30 sec
National guidelines
According to SWAST, national standards are:
- Category 1 – Response time 7 minutes on average, and 90 percent within 15 minutes
- Category 2 – Response time 18 minutes on average, and 90 percent within 40 minutes
- Category 3 – Response time 90 percent within 120 minutes (no average)
There is high demand for ambulance services across Dorset
