Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times in Shropshire.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is introducing a team to triage lower priority cases and diverting patients to other services to reduce attendances at accident and emergency (A&E). Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers are working with hospital staff to improve the flow of patients and coordinate one ambulance crew to care for to four patients, releasing other crews to respond to patients. A Same Day Emergency Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital receives ambulances directly, improving handover times at A&E. A £9.3 million upgrade at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will also deliver additional capacity. Further expansion plans are also being developed to manage the demand in A&E.