P-06-1273 Drastically reduce waiting times for ambulances and at A&E departments, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 11.11.22

Thanks for your email regarding my petition. I have the following questions/comments after reviewing The Health and Social Care Committee transcript.

• I understand that part of the problem is a "back end" issue with getting patients out of hospital and into care or their homes, but I don't think the GP situation is helping at the front end. From talking to family and friends and drawing on my own experience, it seems virtually impossible to see a GP face to face. if people can't get access to their GP's they are going to A&E departments or call ambulances for non-life-threatening illnesses. 
• There should be better education of public around when an ambulance needs to be called or not called, and front-line services such as GP's should be easily accessible to people.
• I have two teenagers that have left school this year and are now looking for work, but I'm not seeing any advertising campaigns or Welsh Government drives to encourage young people into the care sector, even though the committee's report says that there is a recruitment short fall in the care sector.
• Numerous minor injury departments have either been closed or are on reduced hours. Local minor injury department also play a big part in front line services, why aren't there more?
• There are comments in the debate about investment into technology and data sharing. Why not  train more clinicians to be ambulance call handlers so better decisions can be made on ambulance priorities? Most people have a smartphone these days and if they are an older person that doesn't have a smartphone, usually one of their relatives or neighbours that phone for an ambulance as in my father's case will have a smart phone. A trained clinician (rather than a call handler working form a script) armed with a smartphone could see the patient "face to face" and make better/informed decisions on patient priority.
• GP's used to make house calls out of hours, why doesn't this happen anymore? It would filter non urgent calls to the ambulance service and improve waiting times.
• Lastly, why are there not more hospitals with 24-hour A&E? There used to be two hospitals in the Cynon valley, Aberdare and Mountain Ash. We now only have the newer hospital at Mountain Ash that promised so much, but alas is not used to its full potential. The minor injury unit was closed a while back due staff shortages and was only open until 16:30.

Thank you.