Targets

My local news last night included a story on how the private sector is turning its back on unemployed, redundant public sector workers, with 88% of companies interview brandishing us as 'work shy' and 'not target driven'.
I nearly threw my cup of tea at the television. How dare they!
So, here's a little personal reminder to potential private sector bosses on just hard working and target driven I am.

I work an average of 4 shifts a week., 10 or 12 hrs a shift, including lone working, double crew and supervision of students. I see about 4 to 6 patients a shift. That's somewhere between 800 and 1200 a year. I work predominantly nights as well as raising a family, running a volunteer responder group and supporting the long suffering wife's company (private sector I'll add).  I work Christmas, New Year, Bank Holidays, and Birthdays.

I'm answerable to the following targets.

• Mobilisation within 35 seconds,
• Respond to Life Threatening A Catagory calls within 8 minutes,
• For certain calls, Such as Heart Attack, be on scene for less than 20 minutes,
• Monitored against several points with Clinical Performance Indicators for patients suffering Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Hypoglycaemia and Asthma Attacks,
• Handover at hospital within 15 Minutes,
• Handover to clear within 10 minutes
• Mobilisation to Dispatch point within 5 minutes (I'm not sure on this one!...)

There are other targets that although not solely my responsibility, I help to acheive

• Call to Balloon time of 150 minutes for confirmed STEMI,
• 75% of all Non-Emergency calls for transport to be at their destination within 15mins of the agreed time,
• 75% of all A catagory calls reached within 8 minutes and 90% to have a conveying resource within 19 minutes,

There are even more targets that affect us, such as Call Connect, C Catagory responses, GP OOH's call backs etc.

All these targets affect our funding and our jobs.  They ultimately affect the patients, the reason we do the job in the first place.

I'm not stating in any way that we work harder than the private sector, we work just as hard as each other, nor am I saying that these targets are more important than the patients.  These private sector bosses, these 88% who were interviewed, really need to take a closer look at the facts before slinging mud and wrighting us off.