I WAS recently interested - and very concerned - by Government remarks relating to achieved targets in the health service.

How are these targets being achieved?

In terms of ambulance service standards a level of service was set which dealt with the time taken for mobilisation of a vehicle and the time for a vehicle to arrive at scene.

The vehicle had to be a fully-manned (two staff), fully-equipped first line vehicle.

Later standards dictated the level of qualification of the crew, ie one paramedic and one technician.

Sadly that is no longer the case.

Today's ambulance services shout with delight at achieving targets, but do they achieve them?

Often the vehicle sent is a one-man vehicle. It might even be a motorcyclist.

Other manipulations involve placing advanced equipment on out-patient transport vehicles (non-emergency), which are operated by very basically trained staff.

Now another statistic-manipulating avenue has been opened. First-aid trained members of the public are being given advanced equipment and sent to incidents.

While any effort to get quicker assistance to a scene is to be applauded, this should be in addition to the service and not instead of.

While ambulance services claim yet another successful venture, they fail to tell us that the statistics which matter have deteriorated in this area significantly since the closure of Kidderminster Hospital.

We are talking about the important timelapse between the time of the incident or illness and the time of the arrival of the victim at hospital. Overall there is a 15-minute delay.

Playing tricks with figures does not improve the service to patients.

VINCE SMITH

Ambulance Officer (retired)

Fairfield Lane

Wolverley