Ambulance Services : Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

Mrs X complained about the adequacy of the clinical assessment by a Community First Responder (“CFR”, a volunteer who is approved by the Trust to attend certain types of emergency calls in their local community) on 9 September 2020 when the CFR attended her father, Mr Y, following a 999 call. Mrs X was also concerned that there was a delay in sending an ambulance based on the recorded observations of the CFR who indicated Mr Y’s condition was “stable”; Mrs X said that the recorded observations were not suggestive of a “stable” patient.

The Ombudsman found, taking into account the advice received from her professional adviser, that based on the information received during the 999 call, it was appropriate to send a CFR. The call was one that was pre-approved for a CFR to attend, and the assessment carried out was within the scope of the CFR’s competence and within the bounds of acceptable practice.

The Ombudsman also found that the fact that the CFR attended the call did not result in the ambulance call being downgraded: there was no change in Mr Y’s priority. The CFR’s attendance and observations (which were generally indicative of a stable patient) which she reported to the contact centre did not contribute to or result in a delay in sending an ambulance. The Ombudsman did not uphold the complaints.