Monday 18th April 2011

We've been told today that it is 'highly likely' that a £5m penalty will be applied to East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) after it failed to meet national response requirements throughout the last financial year.

NHS Derbyshire County, which oversees the performance of the service, has confirmed that the fine will be applied in line with national rules that say that penalties must be levied if the targets aren't met. However, they have stated that the cash will be ploughed back into EMAS to support performance improvement.

Standards agreed nationally say that 75% of Category A calls (ie heart attack or severely bleeding patients) should be responded to within 8 minutes and 95% of Category B calls (serious conditions needing a quick response) responded to within 19 minutes.

Across the country ambulance services have found the response standards challenging and over half of ambulance services are also likely to miss Category A response requirements and almost all are set to miss the Category B standard.

Martin Whittle, Director of Corporate Strategy, said: "Getting to patients quickly is crucial for ambulances and action must be taken to improve response times. These measures have been put in place to ensure that patients receive high quality care as swiftly as possible.

"It is important that we recognise that EMAS may not achieve the standards required but we are investing into the organisation to support all the measures being taken to address the under-performance. We can assure patients across the East Midlands that we will be working closely with EMAS to ensure that every penny that is reinvested will be used to drive up performance and improve services."

Eleven new Clinical Quality Indicators for England's ambulance services have been introduced from 1st April 2011 to replace the national Category B 19 minute response time measure. The Category A requirement continues unaltered. But for non-life threatening calls, ambulance services will not only be measured on the response time but also on how patients are treated and the outcomes of the treatment.

RECENT STORIES

NO DECISIONS ABOUT YOU, WITHOUT YOU -
A landmark event, aimed at helping shape the future of the local NHS is to take place at the B2net on 5th May. More...

LOCAL GP'S TRIAL SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS -
A Scheme that aims to help GP practices spend more time with patients is currently being trialled at a Derbyshire medical centre. More...

10 FINGERS, 10 TOES, 10 YEARS -
The Chesterfield Royal Hospital has announced that once again it has been awarded Baby Friendly status. More...

LISTENING TO HOW WE CAN IMPROVE DEMENTIA CARE -
Listening to frontline staff, patients and carers is an important part of making sure older people's mental health services in Derbyshire... More...

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE AT ROYAL -
The Chesterfield Royal Hospital is once again holding a Service of Remembrance for parents who have lost their children. More...

CHOCOLATE TREASURE FOR SICK CHILDREN -
An 'egg-citing' (sorry!) time for sick children in hospital over Easter after a local company donated 164 Easter eggs and a bag of balloons to Nightingale Ward to help celebrate Easter More...

HEALTHY START FOR LOCAL LOW INCOME FAMILIES -
Pregnant women and families on a low income are today urged to take advantage of a free healthy vitamin scheme run by their local Chesterfield children's centre. More...

ILL HEALTH ADVICE OVER EASTER -
Patients are being urged to phone their own GP surgery should they need to see a doctor out of hours during the Easter break. More...

PCT CLUSTER CHIEF EXEC APPOINTMENT -
Derbyshire Primary Care Trust Cluster now has a new Chief Executive after the appointment of David Sharp... More...

CRICKETER YARDY'S DEPRESSION AN EXAMPLE TO US ALL -
England cricketer Michael Yardy's decision to open up about his prolonged battle with mental illness proves there's never a wrong time to start fighting depression. More...

PARKING CHANGES AT THE ROYAL -
There's space for change at Chesterfield Royal Hospital - 50 spaces in fact! More...

H-A-P-P-Y
A report out yesterday suggests that staff morale within the NHS Derbyshire County remains among the highest throughout the NHS. More...

COUNTY'S DENTISTS CHAMPION PATIENT SCHEME -
Almost half of Derbyshire County's dentists are now championing a national scheme proving their commitment to patient care. More...

THE ROYAL GOES GLOBAL -
After conquering Facebook, the Chesterfield Royal Hospital has now reached another social networking milestone with its 1,000th YouTube viewing. More...

SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE -
A 4 month long review of the future of children’s congenital heart services is about to begin in England and the NHS is seeking the views of people in Chesterfield. More...

ROYAL INSPECTION FOR HOSPITAL -
The Royal Hospital at Calow lived up to its name on Friday as it welcomed HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. More...

A ROYAL VISITS THE ROYAL -
Chesterfield Royal Hospital announced today that HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will perform the official opening of the new £12m development More...

KICK THIS BUG INTO TOUCH -
Chesterfield FC and nurses from Derbyshire Community Health Services have joined forces to give one of the most virulent and severe winter bugs the 'Red Card'. More...

MODERN MAKEOVER PUTS STROKE PATIENTS FIRST -
Over 450 stroke patients in Chesterfield are to benefit from a £1.4m purpose-built facility for stroke sufferers will soon open at the Royal. More...

BLOOD DRAW TO SCORE DRAW -
A local donor who was one of the first to give blood at the new B2 NET stadium was Guest of Honour to see The Spireites grab a draw in the dying minutes of the game against Bradford on Saturday. More...

MORE FANS FOR ROYAL HOSPITAL -
A few weeks ago Chesterfield Hospital was appealing for friends on Facebook - now they're proud to announce they have fans of a different kind. More...

FLU ADVICE -
As swine flu cases once again begin to rise, Chesterfield Royal hospital is advising people who think they, or someone they know may have the illness to visit their website in the first instance for further advice. More...

STROKE SERVICES SHOWCASED AT HOSPITAL -
The statistics are frightening - around 150 000 people have a stroke every year, it's the largest form of disability and the 3rd most common cause of death in the UK More...

WHEN A CHILD IS BORN -
There were bumper bundles of joy at Chesterfield Royal Hospital on Christmas Day after 7 mums gave birth. More...

DON'T TAKE RISKS WHEN WALKING HOME-
As we're all out enjoying the Christmas Spirit, there's a warning that we need to take care whilst walking home. More...

MORE MRSA SCREENINGS THAN EVER BEFORE AT ROYAL -
The Chesterfield Royal Hospital has announced today that it has extended its MRSA screening programme to include emergency patients. More...

ROYAL GETS DIGITAL TONIC -
Chesterfield Royal Hospital is appealing for friends today. It's become one of the first trusts in the UK to set up a facebook profile More...

GIVE BLOOD, GIVE LIFE -
As Christmas approaches, the NHS Blood Transfusion Service is asking people in Chesterfield to think about giving one free but valuable gift this Christmas and donate a pint of blood. More...

NEW ERA FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH AS NEW UNIT OPENS -
A ground breaking Woman's Health Unit has opened today at the Chesterfield Royal and hopes to change the way the hospital provides gynaecology nursing and medical care. More...

HOSPITAL MAKE CONTINGENCY PLANS AHEAD OF WINTER -
Although it’s only just November, Chesterfield Royal say they are already seeing a rise in admissions due to "winter illnesses" More...

YOUR HOSPITAL NEEDS YOU! -
North Derbyshire's patients are being asked to tell Chesterfield Royal how it can improve it's services. More...