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| Rise in spending on taxis for ambulance patients | Rise in spending on taxis for ambulance patients |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The amount spent on ferrying patients to hospital in taxis has soared by almost 50% in a year, figures obtained by BBC Wales reveal. | |
| The Welsh Ambulance Service spent £269,653 in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with £181,331 in 2013. | The Welsh Ambulance Service spent £269,653 in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with £181,331 in 2013. |
| It said the rise was partly due to a new scheme where patients who dial 999 travel by taxi rather than ambulance if it is safe for them to do so. | It said the rise was partly due to a new scheme where patients who dial 999 travel by taxi rather than ambulance if it is safe for them to do so. |
| But the Welsh Conservatives said the money could be better spent. | But the Welsh Conservatives said the money could be better spent. |
| In December 2014 the number of ambulances hitting the target response time for the most urgent calls fell to its lowest level for three years. | In December 2014 the number of ambulances hitting the target response time for the most urgent calls fell to its lowest level for three years. |
| Only 51% of urgent emergency responses in November arrived within eight minutes - 14 percentage points lower than the target of 65%. | Only 51% of urgent emergency responses in November arrived within eight minutes - 14 percentage points lower than the target of 65%. |
| Gordon Roberts, acting director of operations at the ambulance service, said hiring taxis in emergency cases where it was "clinically appropriate" freed up ambulance crews for "more pressing" calls. | Gordon Roberts, acting director of operations at the ambulance service, said hiring taxis in emergency cases where it was "clinically appropriate" freed up ambulance crews for "more pressing" calls. |
| "In August we launched a scheme which gives paramedics the option to arrange for a patient to go to hospital in a taxi rather than an ambulance, but only if it's clinically safe to do so," he said. | "In August we launched a scheme which gives paramedics the option to arrange for a patient to go to hospital in a taxi rather than an ambulance, but only if it's clinically safe to do so," he said. |
| "More than 100 patients were taken to hospital in the five months following the launch, which is why the cost of hiring taxis increased in the latter part of last year." | "More than 100 patients were taken to hospital in the five months following the launch, which is why the cost of hiring taxis increased in the latter part of last year." |
| Taxi expenditure: | Taxi expenditure: |
| Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "What we've seen is a continued deterioration in ambulance response times, so if we'd seen an improvement on ambulance times and a better use of the money in buying taxis to do the role that ambulances historically fulfilled then you could say it's ticking the box of progress. | Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "What we've seen is a continued deterioration in ambulance response times, so if we'd seen an improvement on ambulance times and a better use of the money in buying taxis to do the role that ambulances historically fulfilled then you could say it's ticking the box of progress. |
| "We seem to be throwing good money after bad in spending more on taxis and getting poor ambulance response times - nobody seems to be winning on this." | "We seem to be throwing good money after bad in spending more on taxis and getting poor ambulance response times - nobody seems to be winning on this." |
| The Welsh government declined to comment. | The Welsh government declined to comment. |