West Midlands Ambulance Service
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The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WMAS) is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.
It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts providing England with Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role. There is no charge to patients for use of the service, and under the Patient's charter, every person in the United Kingdom has the right to the attendance of an ambulance in an emergency.
WMAS is one of the highest performing ambulance services in England and was one of only two to exceed all of its national performance targets in 2006-07. WMAS employs over 3,500 staff over 63 sites, and makes over 450,000 emergency responses every year.[1]
Following a recent reconfiguration, all 999 calls from the public are answered at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Millennium Point, Brierly Hill (near the Merry Hill Shopping Centre).
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[edit] History
The trust was formed on July 1, 2006, following the merger of the Hereford & Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Coventry & Warwickshire Ambulance NHS Trust, and WMAS and Shropshire services.[2]
On October 1, 2007, the service merged with Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.[2][3]
In March 2008, it announced plans for crews to trial wearing stab-proof vests.[4][5]
[edit] EOC Reconfiguration
Following the merger of the trusts, WMAS inherited a number of standalone control rooms. This resulted in 5 EOCs spread across the region operating independently using varying levels of technology at the following sites:[6]
- Millennium Point, Brierley Hill
- Stone Rd, Stafford
- Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury
- Bransford, Worcester
- Dale St, Leamington Spa
On 28 November 2007 the Trust agreed to go ahead with proposals for the reconfiguration of its Emergency Operations Centres, despite vocal protests from the public. All 999 calls are answered by staff at Millennium Point, entered into a computer system and assistance is organised by the closest EOC.
Shropshire Ambulance Service has since seen a significant deterioration in response times.[7] Whether this is a direct consequence is still under debate.
[edit] Air Ambulances
There are two air ambulance charities serving the WMAS service community, the County Air Ambulance and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA).[8]
The County Air Ambulance has three daylight air ambulance helicopters covering the 8,000 square miles (21,000 km²) of the Midlands region, based at RAF Cosford (nr Wolverhampton), East Midlands Airport and at Strensham services.[9]
The WNAA, covering Coventry, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, operates from Coventry airport.[10]
[edit] Resources
The trust has over 400 vehicles, including patient transport services vehicles, rapid response vehicles, motorcycle response units, and of course ambulance crews.
In times of emergency, WMAS also requests assistance from voluntary ambulance providers, such as St John Ambulance[11]. St John Ambulance also provide 'A&E Support' crews at times when there is a high level of staff absence or there is an unusually high call volume. This arrangement sees volunteer crews attending Emergency or Non-Emergency calls. Volunteer crews may treat and transport certain categories of patient, although they are expected to ask for further assistance for more serious patients.
[edit] See also
[edit] Other emergency medical services
- Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
- Air Ambulances in the United Kingdom
- British Red Cross
- St. John Ambulance
[edit] Other emergency services
[edit] References
- ^ West Midlands Ambulance Service: Facts & Figures
- ^ a b Health Care Commission: WMAS. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Midlands ambulance trusts merge", 2007-10-01. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Ambulance crews trial stab vests", 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
- ^ "999 crews to use stab-proof vests", 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
- ^ West Midlands Control Room Option Appraisal (10/10/2007)
- ^ "999 call-out times shock", 2008-03-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
- ^ West Midlands Ambulance Service: Air Ambulance
- ^ County Air Ambulance Trust Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2006
- ^ West Midlands Ambulance Service: Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance
- ^ "Shropshire's response to the flooding", 2007-07. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
[edit] External links
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