London Ambulance Service

Last updated

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Type NHS trust
Established1965
Headquarters Waterloo, London, England [1]
Region served London
Area size607 square miles (1,570 km2)
Population8.6 million
Establishments73 sites including 5 control rooms
Budget£158 million (2017/18)
ChairAndrew Trotter OBE QPM [2]
Chief executiveDaniel Elkeles [2]
Staff6,497 (2020/21) [3]
Website www.londonambulance.nhs.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone calls across the region, and 111 phone calls from certain parts, providing triage and advice to enable an appropriate level of response.

Contents

It is one of the busiest ambulance services in the world, and the busiest in the United Kingdom, providing care to more than 8.6 million people, who live and work in London. The service is currently under the leadership of chief executive Daniel Elkeles and chair Andrew Trotter OBE QPM. [2] The service employs around 5,300 staff.

It is one of ten ambulance services trusts in England providing emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role.

The LAS responded to over 2.1 million 999 calls for assistance, and over 1.2 million incidents in the year ended March 2020. [4] Incidents rose by 20,000 in 2015/16, putting more pressure on the service. All 999 calls from the public are answered at one of the two Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) in Waterloo or Newham who then dispatch and allocate the appropriate resources. To assist, the service's command and control system is linked electronically with the equivalent system for London's Metropolitan Police. This means that police updates regarding specific jobs will be updated directly on the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) log, to be viewed by the EOC, and the resources allocated to the job.

History

The female crew of a London County Council ambulance return to their station during the First World War Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection Q31103.jpg
The female crew of a London County Council ambulance return to their station during the First World War

In 1818, a parliamentary select committee had recommended that provision be made for carrying infectious patients in London "which would prevent the use of coaches or sedan chairs" but nothing was done. In 1866, a Hospital Carriage Fund provided six carriages to hospitals in the metropolitan area, for the use of patients with smallpox or other infectious diseases, provided that they pay for the hire of the horses. The first permanent ambulance service in London was established by the Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) in 1879, when a new Poor Law Act empowered them "to provide and maintain carriages suitable for the conveyance of persons suffering from any infectious disorder". The first became operational at The South Eastern Fever Hospital, Deptford, in October 1883. In all, six hospitals operated horse-drawn "land ambulances", putting almost the whole of London within 3 miles (4.8 km) of one of them. Each ambulance station included accommodation for a married superintendent and around 20 drivers, horse keepers and attendants, nurses, laundry staff and domestic cleaners. [5] A fleet of four paddle steamer "river ambulances" transported smallpox patients along the River Thames to Deptford, where they could be quarantined on hospital ships, departing from three special wharves at Rotherhithe, Blackwall and Fulham. [6] At Deptford, in order to transfer patients between the hospitals at Joyce Green and Long Reach near Gravesend, a horse-drawn ambulance tramway was constructed in 1897 and extended in 1904. In 1902, the MAB introduced a steam driven ambulance and in 1904, their first motor ambulance. The last horse-drawn ambulances were used on 14 September 1912. [5]

Metropolitan Ambulances Act 1909
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Long title An Act to enable the London County Council to establish and maintain an Ambulance Service in London.
Citation 9 Edw. 7. c. 17
Dates
Royal assent 20 October 1909

Although the MAB was legally supposed to be transporting only infectious patients, it increasingly also carried accident victims and emergency medical cases. The Metropolitan Ambulances Act 1909 empowered the London County Council to establish an emergency ambulance service, but this was not established until February 1915 and was under the control of the chief of the London Fire Brigade. [7] Also in 1915, the MAB Ambulance Section were the first public body to employ women drivers, due to the number of men who had volunteered for military service. By July 1916, the London County Council Ambulance Corps was staffed entirely by women. [8]

By 1930, the MAB was the largest user of civil ambulance services in the world, [5] however the Local Government Act 1929 meant that work of the MAB was taken over by the London County Council, which also took charge of the modern fleet of 107 MAB motor ambulances, together with 46 ambulances which were run by local poor law unions. Taken with the 21 ambulances already operated by the LCC, this provided a comprehensive service for all kinds of illness and accident, which was under the direction of the Medical Officer of Health for the County of London. The LCC also took control of the River Ambulance Service, but it was disbanded in 1932. [7]

During a training exercise in Fulham in 1942, ambulance crew and civil defence workers place a "casualty" into an ambulance. The Reconstruction of 'an Incident'- Civil Defence Training in Fulham, London, 1942 D7917.jpg
During a training exercise in Fulham in 1942, ambulance crew and civil defence workers place a "casualty" into an ambulance.

During World War II, the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service was operated by over 10,000 auxiliaries, mainly women, from all walks of life. They ran services from 139 Auxiliary Stations across London. A plaque at one of the last to close, Station 39 in Weymouth Mews, near Portland Place, commemorates their wartime service. [9]

In 1948, the National Health Service Act 1946 made it a requirement for ambulances to be available for anyone who needed them. The present-day London Ambulance Service was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of nine existing services in the new county of Greater London, [10] and in 1974, after a reorganisation of the NHS, the LAS was transferred from the control of local government to the South West Thames Regional Health Authority. On 1 April 1996, the LAS left the control of the South West Thames Regional Health Authority and became an NHS trust. [10]

In late 2017, LAS adopted the Ambulance Response Programme, which altered the targets for response times to 999 calls to reflect patient outcomes by removing hidden waiting times after a successful trial by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service and South Western Ambulance Service. [11]

GradeMeaningType of callInitial response targetResponse details
Category 1Immediate life threat Cardiac arrests, choking, continuous seizure, allergic reaction with breathing problems, major trauma, and major incidents7 minutesResponse time measured with arrival of first emergency responder

Will be attended by single responders and ambulance crews

Category 2Emergency Stroke patients, unconscious, chest pain, road traffic collisions, major burns, sepsis 18 minutesResponse time measured with arrival of transporting vehicle
Category 3UrgentFalls, isolated limb fractures, some minor traumas, less serious burns 120 minutesResponse time measured with arrival of transporting vehicle
Category 4Less Urgent Diarrhoea, vomiting, non-traumatic back pain, health care professional admission120–240 minutesMay be managed through "hear and treat"

Response time measured with arrival of transporting vehicle

Category 5Urgent responseGP urgent admissions to hospital and urgent inter-hospital transfers8 hours or scheduled timeframe, decided by admitting HCP

Structure

As an NHS Trust, the LAS has a Trust Board consisting of 13 members. The board includes; a non-executive chairman, five of the service's executive directors (including the chief executive), and seven non-executive directors. [4]

The chief executive and chief ambulance officer have responsibility for oversight of seven directorates:[ citation needed ]

Operations are directed from two control rooms: one in central London and one in east London, both of which have the ability to take over control entirely if required. [12] Special events in London are co-ordinated from the service's event control room, also located in east London.

During mass casualty incidents, the command structure works on three (or four) levels: gold, silver and bronze. [13]

This system was used effectively in response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. [15]

Staff ranks and roles

LAS vehicles on the scene of an emergency incident in central London London Ambulance vehicles.jpg
LAS vehicles on the scene of an emergency incident in central London
Overview of Epaulette/Slider Colouring [16]
Staff roleEpaulette/Slider colour
Advanced care clinician (e.g Advanced Paramedic in Critical Care or Critical Care DoctorRed
Registered clinician (e.g Advanced Paramedic in Urgent Care or Paramedic or Midwife)Green
Qualified clinicianNavy blue
Assistant, Trainee or Student clinician, emergency responders and non-emergency transfer serviceSky blue
Non-clinicalBlack

The LAS employs a number of operational staff in different departments

Call centres and control rooms

In addition to the 999 emergency service, LAS operates 111 urgent care services covering north east and south east London. [17] In the year to March 2020, the service answered and triaged 2.08 million 999 calls, 1.22 million 111 calls, and attended 1.18 million incidents. [4] The 999 and 111 call centres and control rooms employ a total of 1,655 staff. [4]

Ambulance Services

The Ambulance Services directorate provides front-line crews formed of paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency ambulance crew, and non-emergency transport services. The department also provides incident response officers who are operational commanders, and provide 24/7 operational management. Clinical team managers also provide operational command resilience but primarily provide 24/7 clinical management and leadership.

Ambulance operations employs a total of 4,957 staff. [4]

Medical Directorate

The Medical Directorate provides advanced paramedic practitioners in critical care who are specially trained to deal with critically ill patients, and who can provide interventions outside the normal scope of practice of a paramedic like mechanical ventilation and sedation. Advanced paramedic practitioners in urgent care support the LAS aim to reduce conveyance rates by managing more patients in the home environment without the need for a hospital admission.

999 Operations

The 999 Operations department provides the staff to work in the EOCs, such as call-takers and dispatchers. The department also contains the clinical hub which is staffed by clinical advisors undertaking hear and treat, and clinical team navigators providing clinical support to frontline crews, other EOC staff and maintain oversight of clinical safety at the operational level.

Resilience and Special Operations

The Resilience and Special Operations department employs paramedics in the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), who are specially equipped to deal with casualties at height, in water, or urban search and rescue. There are two HART teams, one each covering the east and west of London. A Tactical Response Unit contains paramedics specially trained to work in the warm zone of active shooter incidents. Helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) paramedics working for London's Air Ambulance Charity also fall under this department.

Front-line roles

Front-line roles in the trust include:

London's Air Ambulance Charity work alongside and is dispatched by LAS, who also provides paramedics to the charity, to work alongside doctors who are sourced from national and international hospitals.

Pioneer services

LAS published its strategy for 2018/19 – 2022/23 in April 2018. [20] It focused heavily on in introduction of what it describes as "pioneer services". These are services which are focused on delivering a more tailored treatment package to specific and significant groups of patients in the community including:

Volunteers

Volunteers make up a small but significant proportion of front line ambulance staff that respond to emergency calls in London. Voluntary responders vary in skill level, but their principal purpose remains the same. That is to attend medical emergencies as quickly as possible to improve the patient's chance of survival, saving lives which may have been lost without the additional resources being available to the ambulance service. Importantly, the deployment of any voluntary responder will not replace the automatic allocation of a regular front line ambulance.

There are two principal roles for volunteers within the London Ambulance Service. These roles include:

LAS volunteers are supported by London Ambulance Service Voluntary Responder Group, providing logistical and financial assistance to keep volunteers operational. LAS can also call upon auxiliary aid from external voluntary organisations such as St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross, as demonstrated in the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

LAS also utilises the GoodSAM app to alert off duty trained medical persons to a nearby cardiac arrest and the location of nearby automated external defibrillators. [21]

Fleet

A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulance LAS at St Georges (cropped).jpg
A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulance
A fast response unit London Ambulance Service Volkswagen Tiguan Fast Response Unit at Wembly.jpg
A fast response unit
A response motorcycle ST1300 Ambulance Bike in London.jpg
A response motorcycle
An LAS rapid-response bicycle NHS bicycle.jpg
An LAS rapid-response bicycle

The LAS operates around 450 emergency ambulances. In addition it can deploy around 100 fast response units in various cars, motorcycles, or bicycles. [22] Although not a part of the LAS, London's Air Ambulance Charity is deployed by the LAS from its base at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel using either its ground RRVs or its helicopter.

As well as accidents and emergencies, the LAS operates a 195-vehicle patient transport service (PTS). Previously a centrally funded service, this element of the LAS is now subject to an open market and is required to tender for work from primary care trusts (PCTs) and other NHS bodies. As well as being contracted by a number of London hospitals and PCTs to take patients to and from their pre-arranged hospital or clinic appointments, the PTS responds to ad hoc journey requests and provides specialist transfer facilities. [23]

Cycle responders, who operate in areas such as the City of London, the West End, Stratford, Kingston Town Centre as well as Heathrow Airport, use custom built Rockhopper mountain bikes manufactured by Specialized Bicycle Components. [24]

In 2017, 140 new Mercedes Sprinter ambulances were introduced and 60 new Volkswagen Tiguan to be incorporated into the fast response unit fleet. [25]

Notable incidents

The LAS plays a significant role whenever an incident causes mass casualties in London. Examples include:

Contracting services

Due to an increase in demand, the LAS has used private ambulance companies, and some charities, to provide additional everyday operational cover. This is largely to ensure set response targets are met and so that the level of resources available to the service stays at a safe level. The future of private ambulances within the LAS is unclear. In March 2014, operational difficulties were reported at Hillingdon Hospital because the private ambulances did not appear on the A&E hospital alert system. [33]

As of 2022, LAS contracts out to two private company, EMFS Group and Polaris Medical who both provide Bariatric services as well as a small number of ambulances. LAS also deploys St John Ambulance mutual aid crews to a limited range of low acuity calls.

In November 2021 the trust announced that it would be directly employing the 500 staff in "make ready" teams who are responsible for cleaning and restocking ambulances before they are taken out. They have been employed by Mitie for some years. [34]

CQC performance rating

In its last inspection of the service in September 2019, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave the following ratings on a scale of outstanding (the service is performing exceptionally well), good (the service is performing well and meeting our expectations), requires improvement (the service is not performing as well as it should) and inadequate (the service is performing badly):

Inspection Reports
AreaRating 2015 [35] Rating 2017 [36] Rating 2018 [37] Rating 2019 [38] Rating 2020 [39]
Are services Safe?InadequateRequires improvementGoodRequires improvementRequires improvement
Are services Effective?Requires improvementGoodGoodGoodGood
Are services CaringGoodOutstandingOutstandingGoodGood
Are services ResponsiveRequires improvementGoodGoodGoodGood
Are services Well-ledInadequateRequires ImprovementGoodGoodGood
Overall ratingInadequateRequires improvementGoodGoodGood

Difficulties and criticisms

In 2000, the LAS faced funding difficulties and an increase in the volume of 999 calls, and it was criticised for poor performance in its response times. The service was sued for negligence in the case of Kent v Griffiths. The chief executive at the time, Michael Honey, left his post after talks with other members of LAS management. [40]

In 2010, the service lost its funding for the emergency care practitioner (ECP) role and existing ECPs were told they must change to a different role within the service, or leave. [41]

A fire in the basement of its Waterloo base in October 2010 caused the LAS to relocate the EOC to the back-up control room in east London due to an interruption to the building's power supply. The service took the step of urging the public to find other means of transport to hospital for anyone with non-life-threatening injuries. [12]

In 2013, the LAS was named by the Care Quality Commission as one of 26 healthcare providers in England failing to operate with sufficient staff. [42]

In September 2014, the trust announced that it would reduce the number of category C calls (the least serious) which receive an ambulance response by 15%. These calls will be triaged by a call handler and either referred to NHS 111 or given telephone advice by a paramedic. In 2014 only 64% of category A patients were reached within eight minutes and it is hoped that by this measure there will be an improved response to the most urgent calls. [43] It has also implemented a system of "intelligent conveyancing" where ambulances avoiding hospitals that are known to be under pressure. This has reduced the average waiting time for handover from ambulance to hospital staff by 180 seconds, though the average journey time has increased by 27 seconds. [44]

In December 2014, it asked other ambulance services for help after its busiest ever week with 11,008 call outs for the most seriously ill and injured. Demand is up 15% on the same time last year. Help has only been requested previously in respect of events like the Olympics or the 2005 bombings. The service has more than 400 vacancies[ when? ] and has had problems recruiting people. It is failing to reach its response targets. [45] In 2014/15, the trust recruited 175 paramedics from Australia. [46]

The trust was placed into special measures following a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2015, which rated it "inadequate" overall and raised "significant concerns" about its performance. 54 inspectors visited 16 ambulance stations and emergency operation centres in June. Criticisms focussed on:

On 23 May 2018, LAS was taken out of special measures by the CQC, being rated good overall and outstanding in patient care. The report noted that the trust needed to focus on ensuring safe staffing levels of the control room, diversity amongst staff and improvements in management of mental health. [49]

7/7 bombings

Ambulances in attendance at Russell Square on 7 July 2005 Russell square ambulances.jpg
Ambulances in attendance at Russell Square on 7 July 2005

Concerns were raised in internal LAS documents over the performance of radios and communication equipment used in the emergency operations after the 7/7 attacks. [50] Again, the sheer volume of emergency calls received made radio communications difficult and put pressure on staff in the ambulance control room. Staff were also hampered in their use of mobile phones as the mobile phone networks were temporarily brought down during the day. In July 2009, the new radio system recommended after the bombings was rolled out.

Despite the changes after 7/7, the LAS was criticised in 2010 for failures to provide fully working radios to its frontline staff. Health and safety inspections found that some radios failed during heavy rain and staff sometimes had to do without. Crews also raised concerns that the panic buttons on their radios did not work properly. [51] [52] [53]

Innovation

In 1974, the LAS commissioned a computer-aided despatch system that remained unused for 13 years because union members refused to operate it.[ citation needed ] A replacement system failed acceptance tests in 1990 and a further replacement system was designed and ordered. On 26 October 1992, the LAS started to use the new computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) system, known as LASCAD. [54] Poorly designed and implemented, its introduction led to significant delays in the assigning of ambulances, [55] with anecdotal reports of 11-hour waits. A subsequent enquiry found no evidence to support union claims that up to 30 people may have died as a result of the crash.[ clarification needed ] The crash coincided with hundreds of control room exceptions messages related to alerts that crews responding to emergencies had not reported mobile, and the ambulance had not moved 50 metres (160 ft) within 3 minutes of despatch. The then-chief executive, John Wilby, resigned shortly afterwards. [56] This failure is often cited in case studies of poor engineering management. [57]

A software upgrade in July 2006 led to repeated system crashes during August. [58] As a result, dispatchers had to go back to old pen-and-paper methods. [59]

On 8 June 2011, the LAS attempted to implement a new CAD system, called CommandPoint, [60] costing £18 million, [61] and built by Northrop Grumman, an American aerospace and defence technology company.

During its implementation it developed technical problems and was replaced by a pen-and-paper method for several hours, [62] until a decision was taken to revert to the previous system, CTAK, in the early hours of 9 June. [63] It was later announced that a review of the difficulties experienced would be undertaken. [64]

A second attempt at implementing CommandPoint took place on 28 March 2012. The trust was considering terminating its contract with Northrop Grumman if the re-attempt to go live with the new system failed. [65] Despite a drop in response times to "Category A" (life-threatening) emergency calls in the period immediately after implementation, which coincided with above average demand, the LAS stated that "The new system is now familiar to all control room staff and demand has returned to more or less predicted levels, with a corresponding increase in performance". [66]

On the morning of 1 January 2017, one of the busiest nights of the year due to new year celebrations, a system failure impacted the system for several hours. Between 00:30 and 05:15 control room staff had to fall back on pen and paper methods. Response times were further impacted by the concurrent failure of the web based tracking system and of automated satellite navigation systems for ambulance crews. This required location details to be passed by radio and then manually entered into satellite navigation systems in vehicles. The ambulance service stated that an investigation would be launched to establish the reasons for the system failure. [67]

In October 2019, the service adopted a platform called GoodSAM, which enables control room staff to connect to a callers' smartphone and assess seriously injured patients via a video link. They can locate a caller and check a patient's pulse from the scene. Using the service in the first month staff decided not to use an air ambulance in 38 of the 67 cases where it was used. It plans to expand the use of the technology across 999 and 111 calls. [68]

Finance

In April 2015, the trust asked its commissioners for £27M extra funding to help it recruit more staff and buy new vehicles. [69]

London Ambulance Service has appeared in multiple documentary series including:

See also

Other London emergency services:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London's Air Ambulance Charity</span> English charity air ambulance

London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London. Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interventions at the scene of the incident in life-threatening, time-critical situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ireland Ambulance Service</span> Ambulance service that serves the whole of Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service is an ambulance service that serves the whole of Northern Ireland, approximately 1.9 million people. As with other ambulance services in the United Kingdom, it does not charge its patients directly for its services, but instead receives funding through general taxation. It responds to medical emergencies in Northern Ireland with the 300-plus ambulance vehicles at its disposal. Its fleet includes mini-buses, ambulance officers' cars, support vehicles, RRVs and accident and emergency ambulances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Ambulance Service</span> Scotlands public ambulance services

The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Ambulance Service</span> NHS trust and ambulance service in Wales

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is the national ambulance service for Wales. It was established on 1 April 1998 and as of December 2018 has 3,400 staff providing ambulance and related services to the 3 million residents of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South East Coast Ambulance Service</span> Provider of ambulance services for south-eastern England

The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex. It also covers a part of north-eastern Hampshire around Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet and Yateley. The service was made an NHS foundation trust on 1 March 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North West Ambulance Service</span> Ambulance service for North West England

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) is the ambulance service for North West England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Ambulance Service</span> UK ambulance service

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is the organisation responsible for providing ambulance services for the National Health Service (NHS) across South West England. It serves the council areas of Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Ambulance Service</span> UK public sector provider of ambulance services in Yorkshire, England (2006- )

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is the NHS ambulance service covering most of Yorkshire in England. It is one of ten NHS Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services as part of the National Health Service it receives direct government funding for its role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Central Ambulance Service</span> Regional ambulance service in England

The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is the ambulance service for the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and most of Hampshire. It is a foundation trust of the National Health Service, and one of ten NHS ambulance trusts in England. As of August 2022, SCAS is currently rated Inadequate by the CQC following multiple failings within the trust. SCAS is the only Ambulance Service in England to have received this rating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East of England Ambulance Service</span> Ambulance service in England

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the East of England region. These consist of approximately 6.2 million people across an area of 7,500 square miles (19,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Western Ambulance Service</span> Former NHS emergency services trust.

The Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust (GWAS) was a National Health Service (NHS) trust which provided emergency and non-emergency patient transport services to Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, in South West England. It was formed on 1 April 2006 by the merger of the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. The ambulance service was acquired by neighbouring Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT) on 1 February 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Ambulance Service</span> UK public sector ambulance service

The North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) is an NHS foundation trust responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in North East England. Headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, NEAS provides emergency medical services to the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and City of Sunderland; the ceremonial counties of County Durham and Northumberland; and the area of North Yorkshire commonly known as Teesside. NEAS was formed on 1 July 2006, following the merger of the existing North East Ambulance Service with the Tees division of the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (TENYAS). Northumbria Ambulance Service and County Durham Ambulance Service had previously merged on 1 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midlands Ambulance Service</span> Ambulance trust in England

The West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS) is responsible for providing NHS ambulance services within the West Midlands region of England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom</span>

Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom provide emergency care to people with acute illness or injury and are predominantly provided free at the point of use by the four National Health Services (NHS) of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is only free to UK residents and a charge may be made to those not entitled to free NHS care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical personnel in the United Kingdom</span> People engaged in the provision of emergency medical services

Emergency medical personnel in the United Kingdom are people engaged in the provision of emergency medical services. This includes paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency care assistants. 'Paramedic' is a protected title, strictly regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council, although there is tendency for the public to use this term when referring to any member of ambulance staff.

National Health Service ambulance services provide free at the point of use emergency medical care to any person requiring treatment, regardless of immigration or visitor status, within the United Kingdom. These services are provided by National Health Services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current system comprises 14 NHS organisations: 11 ambulance services trusts cover the separate regions of England and; individual nationwide services cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.

An emergency care assistant is a type of emergency medical service worker in the United Kingdom, often used to support paramedics in responding to emergency calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Ambulance Service</span> UK public sector ambulance service for the East Midlands region of England

The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) provides emergency medical services, urgent care and patient transport services for the 4.8 million people within the East Midlands region of the UK - covering Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. It was formed in 1999 by amalgamating several county ambulance services, and in July 2006 was dissolved and reformed under the same name as part of a nationwide reorganisation of ambulance service provision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSE National Ambulance Service</span>

The National Ambulance Service is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national healthcare authority.

The States of Jersey Ambulance Service (SJAS) is managed by the Justice and Home Affairs department.

References

  1. "Contact details - London Ambulance Service". Care Quality Commission. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Meet our leadership team - London Ambulance Service NHS Trust". 4 September 2017.
  3. "Annual Report & Accounts 2020/21". London Ambulance Service. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Annual Report & Accounts 2019/20". London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Higginbotham, Peter. "The MAB Land Ambulance Service". www.workhouses.org.uk. The Workhouse - The story of an institution... Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  6. Higginbotham, Peter. "The MAB River Ambulance Service". www.workhouses.org.uk. The Workhouse - The story of an institution... Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 Ayers, Gwendoline M. (1971). England's First State Hospitals and the Metropolitan Asylums Board, 1867-1930. London: Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. ISBN   978-0854840069. |pages=190-191}}
  8. Marwick, Arthur (1977), Women at War 1914-1918, Fontana Paperbacks in Association with the Imperial War Museum (p. 75)
  9. "Green Plaques". Westminster City Council . Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  10. 1 2 "London Ambulance Service website: History".
  11. "NHS England » Ambulance Response Programme". www.england.nhs.uk.
  12. 1 2 "London Ambulance Service - Fire at headquarters building". Londonambulance.nhs.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  13. Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "414.4 Major Incident Procedures Leaflet A5.pdf" (PDF). Camden Council. April 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  15. "JEMS.com: The EMS response plan that worked". Archived from the original on 16 October 2006.
  16. "New 2020 Rank Structure - a Freedom of Information request to London Ambulance Service NHS Trust". WhatDoTheyKnow. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  17. "FOI Request: List of NHS111 Providers and their contact telephone numbers". whatdotheyknow.com. NHS England. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  18. "Ambulance trust pledges to treat more patients on scene". Health Service Journal. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  19. "Ambulance crew". London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. September 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  20. "A world class ambulance service for a world class city: Strategy 2018/19 – 2022/23". London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  21. "GoodSAM app". 18 September 2017.
  22. "London Ambulance Service: Facts & figures". Archived from the original on 18 September 2008.
  23. "London Ambulance Service website".
  24. "London Ambulance Service - Cycle responder". www.londonambulance.nhs.uk. London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  25. "Two Hundred New Ambulance Vehicles for London". No. 7. Public Sector Focus. November 2016.
  26. "on this day 28 February 1975". BBC News. 28 February 1975. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  27. "on this day 18 November 1987". BBC News. 18 November 1987. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  28. "on this day 12 December 1988". BBC News. 12 December 1988. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  29. "on this day 20 August 1989". BBC News. 20 August 1989. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  30. "on this day 8 January 1991". BBC News. 8 January 1991. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  31. "on this day 5 October 1990". BBC News. 5 October 1999. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  32. .BBC News website: on this day 7 July 2005
  33. "Increase in private ambulances causes problems for trust". Health Service Journal. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  34. "Trust plans to directly employ 500 outsourced staff". Health Service Journal. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  35. "London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Quality Report". Care Quality Commission. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  36. "London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Quality Report". Care Quality Commission. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  37. "London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Quality Report". Care Quality Commission. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  38. "Provider: London Ambulance Service NHS Trust". Care Quality Commission . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  39. "London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Quality Report". Care Quality Commission. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  40. "BBC: Ambulance chief quits". BBC News. 10 February 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  41. "London Ambulance Service decides they will no longer use Emergency Care Practitioners as part of their workforce". LysaWalder.com. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  42. "17 hospitals with unsafe staffing, says Care Quality Commission". BBC News. 13 January 2013.
  43. "Strained ambulance service to cut call-outs by 15 per cent". Health Service Journal. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  44. "How London Ambulance is preparing for winter pressures". Health Service Journal. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  45. "London Ambulance Service asks for help". BBC News. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  46. "Trusts forced to look overseas to plug paramedic gaps". Health Service Journal. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  47. "'Inadequate' London Ambulance Service placed in special measures after damning inspection report". Your local guardian. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  48. Palazzo, FF.; Warner, OJ.; Harron, M. (1998). "Misuse of the London ambulance service: How much and why?". Emergency Medicine Journal. 15 (6): 368–370. doi:10.1136/emj.15.6.368. PMC   1343207 . PMID   9825272.
  49. "London Ambulance Service NHS Trust". www.cqc.org.uk.
  50. "BBC: 7 July ambulance 'radio failure'". BBC News. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  51. "Industry news-1-1". IOSH. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  52. at 11:27, John Oates 13 July 2010. "Ambulance radios don't like the rain". www.theregister.co.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  53. "Ambulance radios 'fail in rain'". BBC News. 13 July 2010.
  54. Nick Plant. "University of the West of England: LASCAD Case Study". Cems.uwe.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  55. "Personal Computer World: Ambulances won't crash again". Pcw.co.uk. 12 June 1997. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  56. Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (28 October 1992). "House of Commons Hansard debates for 28th October 2002". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  57. Mike Dahlin. "Coping with complexity - Jerome H. Saltzer (MIT)" (PDF). Advice to systems researchers. Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  58. "BBC: Computer problem hits 999 calls". BBC News. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  59. "London Ambulance computer crashes nine times". E-Health Insider. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  60. "CommandPoint™". Is.northropgrumman.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  61. "Ambulances Delayed By 50 Minutes As New Computer Fails". LBC. 8 July 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  62. "Statement about our new call-taking system" (Press release). London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. 8 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  63. "Statement about our new call-taking system" (Press release). London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. 8 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  64. "Statement about our new call-taking system" (Press release). London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  65. "E-Health Insider :: LAS plans for IT go-live and failure". Ehi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  66. McLellan, Alastair (8 June 2012). "London Ambulance performance on life threatening calls falls sharply in run up to Olympics". www.hsj.co.uk. Health Service Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  67. "London ambulance service hit by new year fault". BBC News. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  68. "Live videos from trauma scenes halve air ambulance use". Health Service Journal. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  69. "London Ambulance asks CCGs for £27m extra funding". Health Service Journal. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.