Ambulance Trust of the Year
sponsored by Thames Group
Over the past five years the number of ambulance 999 calls has gone up by a third, placing more pressure on ambulances and control room operations. This award is presented to the Ambulance Trust that has embraced change and demonstrated an increase in response times, the ability to provide treatment at the scene of an accident, and the provision of outpatient services.
2011 Winner
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust
In July this year, NHS figures showed that South Central Ambulance Service NHS trust was the best performing in England in terms of response times. The Trust also continued to improve its non-conveyance rates, and is the national leader in the field with 42.5% of patients being treated without having to be transported to hospital - an increase of 3.9% over last year. July also saw a new facility opened to enable SCAS to provide an enhanced 999 emergency response to incidents on the M40 motorway.
Commended
West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Despite the range of demands placed upon the West Midlands Ambulance Service throughout 2010/2011, a record of sustained achievement was again maintained. Emergency response to 999 calls continues to be recognised as one of the best in the country, with more patients treated and more patients seen quicker. Clinical outcomes and performance was acclaimed by local commissioners and the Healthcare Commission. Financial targets continue to be met, providing a sound basis on which to move forward.
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
During December 2010 and January 2011 the LAS met unprecedented demand which saw it respond to over 1,150 life threatening patients per day - a 15% increase of the same period the year before. By undertaking systematic planning and preparation prior to winter and working with other emergency providers, the Service implemented new activities to manage the increase in demand. A mini field hospital was based at Liverpool Street Station and an NHS walk-in centre alleviated the pressures on A&E.
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Last years winner, the South Western Ambulance Service was first in the UK to successfully admit a stroke patient directly to a specialist scanner in hospital for a door to scan time of just 10 minutes. This compares to an average of 50 minutes. March this year saw South Western Ambulance Service confirmed to operate as an NHS Foundation Trust. In July, the Trust launched a Cycle Response Unit. Consisting of two fully equipped cycles staffed by Paramedics, the unit will be used all year round during peak times of activity.
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2010 Winner
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
The SWAST enjoys a positive reputation across the region and beyond, and has a very encouraging record with respect of accolades like the Infection and Prevention and Control award from the National Patient Safety Awards for its innovative Cleaner Care Campaign. During recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections, the Trust attained the highest possible score for one and very highly on another, and some procedures seen as best practice. SWAST is also the first in the UK to successfully admit a stroke patient directly to a CT scanner for door to CT scan time of just 10 minutes. This compares to an average of 50 minutes. The door to needle time was just 32 minutes, compared to standard performance of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Commended:
South East Coast Ambulance Service
South East Coast Ambulance Trust's 'Make Ready' is an award-winning initiative which sees specialist teams of staff clean, restock and maintain vehicles. This frees up frontline clinicians, who have historically undertaken these tasks, to spend more time treating patients. The Make Ready Depot will also serve as the permanent base for SECAmb’s first Hazardous Area Response Team, (HART) – a team of clinicians who have been specially recruited and trained in the use of specialist equipment and vehicles. This will enable them to safely treat patients in the ‘hot zone’ at major incidents or in hazardous conditions.
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
EEAST continues to be one of the best performing ambulance services in the country, consistently going over and above the main target of reaching 75% of life threatened patients within eight minutes, and achieving the target of reaching 95% of non life threatening but serious calls within 19 minutes. During the last financial year, front-line staff responded to more than 668,000 emergency 999 calls, and the Patient Transport Service carried out around one million patient journeys.
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
The London Ambulance Service has another challenging year, coping with more than one million emergency incidents in 2009/10 – a four per cent on the previous year. Support for staff is high on the agenda, and LAS has been commended for its LINC scheme (Listening, Informal, Non-judgmental, Confidential) where staff are trained in basic counselling skills and offer a confidential listening service to colleagues. The service also beat tough competition from across Europe to be named ‘outstanding emergency call centre’ by the European Emergency Number Association.
