THE man brought in to fix the problems of the Welsh Ambulance Service has announced he is leaving after three-and-a-half years in post.

Alan Murray today announced he will step down as chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust at the end of the month.

He said he feels as though he has taken the trust as far as he can.

Mr Murray, who is regarded as the Mr Fix-It of failing ambulance services, said: “During the past three-and-a-half years, we have been able to implement wide-ranging changes, leading to significant progress in improving our performance.

“Nurses are triaging less serious 999 calls and resolving almost three-quarters of them on the phone.

“The first ever university educated paramedics will graduate in August. Our first specialist practitioners are now operational, seeing and treating many more people in their own homes, keeping them out of hospital.

“While strong foundations have been laid for the future, a lot of hard work remains to be done.

“I am proud of what our staff have achieved, but I believe that I have taken the trust as far as I can.

“It is a high profile, high pressure job and I believe the time has now come to pass the baton to someone new.

“I want to thank everybody who works for the Welsh Ambulance Service, staff and volunteers for their hard work and dedication. They fully deserve the confidence and admiration of the people of Wales.”

Stuart Fletcher, chairman of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, said: “I would like to thank Alan for his important contribution during a crucial period in the history of the Welsh Ambulance Service.

“Our performance has improved considerably since he took the reins in 2006.

“He is the main architect of our comprehensive modernisation programme – Time to Make a Difference – which has provided us with an excellent strategy to improve the service.

“There is still some way to go but we are now in a stronger position as we enter the next stages of the modernisation programme. I would like to wish Alan all the best in the future.

“We will conduct a careful search to find a successor who can take the Welsh Ambulance Service forward to the next level in terms of our progress and create an organisation of which Wales can be proud.”

Mr Murray was appointed chief executive in 2006 when the performance and reputation of the Welsh Ambulance Service were at an all time low.

He had previously worked as a senior consultant in America, Canada, India, the Middle East and New Zealand.

And before coming to Wales, he had advised more than half the ambulance trusts in England and was instrumental in reviving the ailing Merseyside Ambulance Service.

But despite some initial improvements in ambulance response times, the latest figures show the beleaguered service is still failing to consistently achieve the target of reaching 65% of life-or-death emergency calls in eight minutes.

On response times alone, it remains the worst performing ambulance service in the UK.

Elwyn Price-Morris, director of the North Wales regional office of the Welsh Assembly Government's health department, will act as interim chief executive while the board searches for Mr Murray's successor.

Paul Williams, chief executive of NHS Wales, said: "I would like to thank Alan for his hard work in helping to improve the performance of the Welsh Ambulance Service and wish him well in the future.

"He can be confident that he leaves the ambulance service in a much better position to the one he inherited."

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