Heart attack or stroke victims may continue to face longer ambulance wait times

But figures also show the time it takes to hand over a patient to NHS staff at Blackpool Victoria Hospital is improving

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of The Blackpool Lead,

We have a story for you which looks into what’s happening with ambulance waiting times, and how there’s good news about improvements made for getting patients transferred faster at Blackpool Vic but concerning news for anyone at risk of a heart attack or a stroke.

There’s masses of data published about how the NHS and health services are performing, so Michael Holmes makes sense of it all for you in the context of Blackpool.

No one else will be digging as deep into it as he is - so do share what he’s found in today’s editions with friends or family you think may be interested. And become a subscriber today to support our original, local, journalism in Blackpool and read the story in full.

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🛝 Plans to create a gleaming new play space at Anchorsholme Park are moving forward after vandals wrecked the play area in a mindless attack last year. Residents can look forward to an exciting new future for their much-loved playground at the park, as a major redevelopment project is being designed by local children, for local children. Following the devastating arson attack that destroyed the iconic play ship, the centrepiece of Anchorsholme Park playground, many residents feared that a treasured community asset had been lost forever. However, thanks to the determination of local ward councillors, community groups and Blackpool Council, the playground is now set to be reborn bigger and better than ever. The ambitious project is being led by ward councillors Anita Cooper and Paul Galley in partnership with Blackpool Council and will follow a five-stage process to ensure the new playground truly reflects the wishes of local families.

Heart attack or stroke victims may continue to face longer ambulance wait times

By Michael Holmes

People having a heart attack or stroke may have to accept longer waits for an ambulance because the “operational reality” facing the NHS has changed since Covid, health bosses have suggested.

Paramedics should get to patients within an average of 18 minutes - and within 40 minutes 90 per cent of the time - if they are suffering from a “serious condition”, a national target dictates.

But, with no ambulance trust hitting the mark since Covid arrived on our shores in early 2020, patients have been told to temper their expectations.

Salman Desai, chief executive of the North West Ambulance Service (Nwas), said “public expectation remains that” paramedics “will attend every 999 call and that it will do so within the historic 18-minute standard”, documents seen by The Blackpool Lead show.

Desai, who has been in permanent charge of the trust, which serves more than seven million people, since early last year, “noted that the operational reality is now different and emphasised the importance of managing public expectations accordingly”.

It comes as handover performance at Blackpool Victoria Hospital — the time taken to transfer patients and their medical information from paramedics to hospital staff — has improved.