Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, is to meet the Chief Executive (Darren Hurrell) and Chair (Mary Whyham) of the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) at their Lancashire headquarters in Broughton, Preston, next Friday, 4 December.

The MP aims to learn, first-hand, about the impact on the ambulance service of the controversial changes to Accident and Emergency provision in East Lancashire two years ago - and what still needs to done.

From his Constituency Office in Nelson the MP said “The recent Care Quality Commission performance ratings for 2008/09 show that the expected response times for emergency category A calls (8 minutes) and Category B calls (19 minutes) are not being achieved. It is now two years since the hospitals’ A&E services were
reconfigured with all emergency patients being shipped to Blackburn.”

“There still appear to be problems in getting emergency patients to Blackburn and then making sure they are treated within the 4 hour target.”

The MP added: “Recent press coverage of a paramedic’s concerns about ambulance service performance must be worrying many people. The number of ambulances is greater the closer you get to Blackburn.”

Note to Editors

The CQC Ambulance service report is available at
http://2009ratings.cqc.org.uk/findcareservices/informationabouthealthcareservices/overallperformance/searchfororganisation.cfm?cit_id=RX7&widCall1=customWidgets.content_view_1