Rapid response to serious injuries

12:59pm Monday 21st April 2008

Almost a third of all ambulance call outs in Barnet last year were for serious or life threatening injuries.

The total number of incidents that London Ambulance Service responded to across the borough in 2007-08 increased by about 1.6 per cent on the previous year to 35,000.

The speed of response for the most serious casualties improved in Barnet by six per cent, to 77 per cent over the same period, bringing the figures above the Government target for ambulances to reach 75 percent of serious cases within eight minutes.

Martin Bowdler, ambulance operations manager in Barnet, said the figures reflect well nationally, but admitted there was still work to do.

"We have focused on trying to utilise our resources a lot better in this area," he added.

"We would obviously like to be much higher, but it is vital for us to improve not only in terms of national standard targets, but also in providing the best patient experience when it is needed."

Across London, 79 per cent of incidents were responded to within eight minutes, although Mr Bowdler suggested there was still a problem with the categorising of calls.

"Depending on the information received by control, there are times when the incident isn't as serious as it seemed, and people are misusing the 999 number," he said.

"A lot of effort has been put in to achieve the Government standards, and we will use additional resources to target other areas more efficiently than they are currently dealt with."

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