WEST Midlands Ambulance Service is celebrating a new report that it is the most efficient in the country, despite ongoing problems including hospital delays.
It attributes it to being the only ambulance service in the country with a paramedic on every vehicle; having the most modern fleet with all vehicles standardised and none over five years old; and by using some of the most technologically advanced equipment.
The Trust says it is “able to discharge more patients at the scene than any other service, which brings real benefits to patients and hospitals as fewer patients are taken to A&E”.
It follows a winter when overstretched A&E departments saw ambulances with patients having to wait outside in the West Mildands and nationally.
The report by Lord Carter of Coles examines the differences between ambulance services in England.
West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “We welcome the report as it recognises the extraordinary lengths that ambulance service staff go to, to help patients but also backs up many of the decisions this Trust has taken over several years.
“Despite being one of the worst funded ambulance services in the country, our unique operating model means we are the only Trust in the country to consistently surpass all of the response targets.
“We have invested heavily in our staff with update training every year. This helps us to achieve the second lowest conveyance rate in the country: only about half of patients are taken to hospital but we are confident that we can reduce that still further.
“Lord Carter recognises the huge cost and frustration experienced by ambulance services dealing with the unacceptable hospital handover delays. It put a huge extra pressure on my staff, provides poor care for patients and means some patients wait far longer than they should have to, before they receive hospital care.
“We were delighted to have a visit from Lord Carter earlier this year to see the progress we have made over the last five years. It was clear how impressed he was with what we do here in the West Midlands.
“Lord Carter does highlight that there is further work still to be done, which we fully support. There is no doubt that further improvements in technology would benefit our staff and patients alike.
“We also recognise and welcome his comments about a lack of clinically suitable alternatives to A&E inhibits our ability to keep patients out of hospital. We will study the report closely so that we can make further improvements for the benefit of patients.”
