Ambulance chiefs have pledged to improve services in Okehampton after MP Mel Stride complained to health secretary Sajid Javid over lengthy waiting times.

South Western Ambulance Service admitted their resources are stretched due to the covid pandemic following concerns raised by Okehampton Town Council.

The ambulance service and the Department for Health and Social Care responded to letters written by Central Devon MP Mr Stride on behalf of the town council regarding its concerns about the length of time some patients waited for paramedics.

Will Warrender, chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service, told Mr Stride, who raised the council’s concerns with Mr Javid, that increased demand in a tight financial climate and the pressures of the pandemic had caused difficulties.We face a particular challenge with being such a rural ambulance service with an ever increasing population and demand alongside the fact that Commissioner funding is unable to fully offset this increase in demand in such a tight financial climate.’The ambulance service has also quoted staffing shortages due to sickness and covid isolations as contributing to longer ambulance waiting times and admitted in the letter that a ‘dramatic remodelling’ of the service was required.Statistics quoted by the ambulance service show that over four percent of shift hours were unmanned in Okehampton between April 5 and September 12, 2021. Cllr Ann Wood said she thought it unlikely that the situation had improved much since September but appreciated that covid had not helped the situation.‘Covid definitely can’t be helping. It’s very difficult and almost like a perfect storm. There aren’t the carers around. It is very difficult,’ she said.The situation has been compounded by a reduction in the number of Community First Responders in Okehampton which was set up to provide a faster response to those in medical distress and works in a similar way to a retained firefighter team. However, there is now only one volunteer in the scheme working 25 hours a week and on an adhoc basis.However, South Western Ambulance Service says it is working on schemes to improve the situation. It says that it plans to set up a recruitment programme for the Community First Responder Scheme this year in order to ensure the town has a volunteer team on call 24 hours a day.In an emergency, volunteers may be called from their homes or workplaces to attend severely ill patients and administer initial medical support before the ambulance’s arrival.In the letter, Mr Warrender wrote: ‘It would be our wish to place a fully qualified crew in all of our towns but the reality is that this is not achieveable given the demands on finite public finances.‘The quality of service that we provide to our patients is important and a key focus of all our plans.’Okehampton’s situation is not unique; patients across the country are waiting longer and longer for ambulance arrivals. In a letter to Mel Stride, minister of state for health Edward Arger, wrote: ‘Ambulance and A&E services have been placed under enormous pressure in recent months due to high levels of demand. ‘The Government is committed to supporting the NHS to manage these pressures and is dedicated to ensuring that people receive the treatment that they need. A number of measures are in place to reduce pressure on ambulance trusts and A&E department, reduce waiting times and improve patient flow.’He added that the Department of Health was continuing to work towards improvements in the NHS including the improvement of emergency care which might reduce pressure on A&E departmrnts.The plans include increasing provisions for same-day emergency care, improving the use of GPs in A&E deparments, improving the NHS 111 service and increasing the number of urgent treatment centres.Next week (January 31), Okehampton Town Council will discuss both Mr Warrender’s and Mr Arger’s replies and decide whether further action needs to be taken.