George Dixon's Ghost (29/01/13 @ 10:55)

this is true in my force area as waiting times have been more lengthy recently in one rtc a fire engine was used as an ambulance. it is a national disgrace how the emergency services are having yo face these cuts when the gvts slush fund of overseas aid is not touched . absoloute shower of clowns in charge .. i would like to say come on Williams show more outrage ooh i really think you have them on the ropes with we will highlight the problem to them....THEY DONT CARE MR WILLIAMS cut the meek and mild approach and lets have some robust leadership

Anonymous (29/01/13 @ 12:14)

Unfortunately the government will probably just say that it's up to the NHS to prioritise its spending and wash their hands of the matter.

Jak_Hama (29/01/13 @ 12:50)

This is the tip of the iceberg. Nhs cut A&E staffing but leave the four hour transit target.... To fiddle that figure the nurses dont accept responsibility from the ambulance for one, maybe two hours. .. end result 6 hour transit and no Non-compliance report. so ambulance staff twiddle their thumbs and police and publuc can't get an ambulance. cuts to social services thus week saw me attend more "concern for welfare" jobs than crime, because health authorities dont have staff to knock on doors. cuts to mental health teams are seeing me go to a mentalist a day... and then waiting for upto five hours while the MH doctor finishes his rounds at three hospitas. Schools call us to deal with unruly pupils because they had to let their "inclusion" specialist go. and on top of that we have pcso and special colleagues making work for us. it only a shame no one has noticed that the only people who can't say no are the ones getting hit hardest. HMG you are a shower.... FED you are lapdogs with no teeth.

Petemac (29/01/13 @ 13:01)

Yes this does happen daily still in the end the cops will get sued when someone dies in the rear of a police car on route to hospital and the Cop suspended!

Jak_Hama (29/01/13 @ 13:40)

does anyone else get the "ambulance are standing off as the patient may be violent" and when you get there... surprise. .. no ambulance. then you can't leave for 25minutes until they get there. used much!

oldcopper (29/01/13 @ 15:42)

@Peter An excellent point. Many years ago ambulance crew in my old Force went on strike and each relief inspector was asked to provide a van and 2 PCs on each shift to act as an ambulance and crew. I soon ascertained that if anyone died after coming into the hands of the Police as a patient that the death would be regarded as a death in custody, with all the potential consequences that entailed. I therefore instructed my PCs that they were NOT, under any circumstances, to attempt to administer First Aid.to any patient they were asked to transport. I think the FED should be alerting its membership to the potential hazards this type of duty creates. .

Anonymous (29/01/13 @ 16:54)

I not sure this article can be correct - afterall, remember the Home Secretary Teresa May's mantra before she systematically dismantled our service - The police' mission is to 'cut crime, nothing more, nothing less'... Once again we see the results of her ideological nonsense...! I can't wait for the next general election...

Anonymous (29/01/13 @ 16:55)

I not sure this article can be correct - afterall, remember the Home Secretary Teresa May's mantra before she systematically dismantled our service - The police' mission is to 'cut crime, nothing more, nothing less'... Once again we see the results of her ideological nonsense...! I can't wait for the next general election...

Shropshire (29/01/13 @ 18:40)

Williams waste of space end of as for the above I remember in the late 80,s when the ambulance service went on strike I was in the army and was one of the boys in green before i crossed over to the dark side working with the boys and girls in blue ( who pissed me off with the overtime they were on strangely it was my time on that which made my mind up to join the police ) anyway to get to the point I had then lots of training in first aid and I was dealing with stuff tat was way beyond my scope. Christ knows how many of the ones died after they left me. We should not be placed in this position I don't blame our mates in the other services but we should be able to take a stand at a higher level (some hope) We have been the master of all trades but those days are past I wouldn't ask the doctor to tile my bathroom whilst examining my dodgy prostate so this should not be asked of us....... By the way still pathetic showing on registering to vote on the ballot dead in the water unless any who are reading this who have not voted take that unused finger out of their arse ( I can see a pattern here time to get back on the pills).

littleun (30/01/13 @ 09:52)

We are the end of the line the service that can't say no we need to do what other services say ie that's an A&E matter' Social Services, school, council, Mental Health , Ambulance, Civil. The one thing members of the public say we should be doing is ( Shouldn't you be catching burglars ) normally in a leave me alone type way !! but there right we should.

Martin (30/01/13 @ 10:32)

This isn't just lack of ambulances. The Dept of Health has also been interfering in the recruitment process for CFRs (Community First Responders) by imposing very strict, and mostly totally irrelevant, medical requirements on all applicants. What these mean is that anyone over about 45 (in the age group before vaccines for the common childhood illnesses) is ineligible. Oddly, they now do blood tests for resistance to those diseases but not HIV/AIDS or any of the Hepatitis strains. Not only is this really messing up current recruitment drives but as the screening process is applied to existing CFRs many will probably be forced to quit.

Fin Finkelstein (30/01/13 @ 11:22)

All things being equal the Police, if unable to attend an incident, should call the Ambulance Service or the Fire Service and ask them to attend and deal. After all if they cannot attend they have no problem calling the police

The Liverbirder (30/01/13 @ 18:46)

Here's another angle. The ambulance service are allegedly paid by their PCT based on response times for high priority calls. Meet 75% or more in 20 minutes and get your cash; fail and you do not. Arrival at the scene by police constitutes a success as officers are first aid trained. The clock stops and in essence the police have met the ambulance service's target for them and they are rewarded. We get all the problems, they hit their PIs and are remunerated.

Guest (30/01/13 @ 23:22)

@Anonymous Yeap....they will their hands of it one way or the other....probably blaim the Police for being lazy or some ridiculous pugwash!