ANNUAL - South Western Ambulance Service Annual Reports...South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East...

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY

Contents04 welcome from the chairman

06 thank you from the chief executive

08 about us

13 what we do

14 how we responded

16 the role of our responders

18 delivering the right care2

20 delivering for you

22 ambulance clinical quality indicators (acqis)

24 patient experience

26 highlights of the year

28 our income

29 what we spent our money on

30 looking forward

32 valuing staff

34 engaging with the public

36 meet some of our staff

38 have your say

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY02

Thank you for your interest in South Western Ambulance Service and a very warm welcome to our annual report summary for 2014/15. We hope to provide you with an overview of our activity,

performance and achievements for the past 12 months. Our

priority is to continue providing a patient-centred approach

to care, where the people we treat are at the heart of

everything we do. Valuing our staff is equally important and

we have increased the range of developmental opportunities

available to our workforce, as well as introducing new ways

to engage with them. We actively embrace quality and

innovation in order to further improve the care we deliver.

Joined up working has never been more important and last

year we operated in partnership with more stakeholders

than ever before. During the course of our work we have

made a real tangible difference to many communities. A

good example of this is the Saving Lives in Gloucestershire

initiative. By working with the Rotary Clubs across the

county, along with MPs, councillors, schools and voluntary

organisations, a significant number of defibrillators have

been placed at education and sports facilities. Other key

achievements we are proud to have accomplished include

running the new Urgent Care Centre in Tiverton, which

opened in July 2014. Around 99% of patients are assessed

within 15 minutes of arrival and only wait for 20 minutes on

average before being treated. This is all part of our quest to

provide more patients with the right care in the right place at

the right time. Our organisation still has the highest rate of

non-conveyance in the country, meaning more patients are

being treated outside hospitals in a setting more appropriate

to their needs, including in their own homes. This saved

the healthcare economy across the region an impressive

£9 million last year. Our participation in the Dispatch on

Disposition trial (see page 06) also shows our commitment

to patients by ensuring that they get the most suitable

response.

Throughout the year we hosted several VIP visits. In February

2015 we were delighted to welcome HRH The Princess Royal

to officially open our cutting-edge new Hazardous Area

Response Team (HART) base in Exeter. We will continue to

work closely with our governors, commissioning colleagues,

health and care partners, fellow emergency services, the

voluntary sector and other statutory bodies during the next

12 months and beyond. As we reflect on the achievements

and challenges from the past year, we look forward to

another successful 12 months. Many thanks to our staff,

whose loyalty and commitment is commendable and makes

such a positive difference to our patients.

Heather StrawbridgeChairman

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04 ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY

chiefexecutiveTh

ank

you

from

the

Like other ambulance trusts across the country, demand for our services continues to rise to unprecedented levels. With only a finite number of vehicles and staff available and stringent national targets to meet, it is imperative that we correctly identify those who need our help most. Our development of an innovative initiative titled ‘the

Dispatch on Disposition pilot’ has helped us to achieve this,

and as a result more patients than ever before are getting

the right care in the right place at the right time. We led

this national trial, which, owing to its success, continues

and is expected to be rolled out to other ambulance services

soon. Essentially, it gives us more time to assess and triage

those calls that do not involve patients in a life-threatening

condition or those requiring time critical care. By doing this

we can ensure that our patients receive a response most

suited to their condition. This doesn’t necessarily mean an

ambulance response and a transfer to hospital. In fact more

patients are treated in their own home more often, they

might be signposted to another treatment facility or given

advice over the phone (this is known as ‘hear and treat’).

Our clinical workforce possesses a wide variety of skills and

are able to confidently leave people at home knowing they

have received the right care without needing to enter the

hospital system. In addition to the obvious patient benefits,

this approach results in significant financial savings to the

healthcare economy.

When I consider all that we accomplish and the challenges

we are faced with, we would not be able to achieve our

goals, realise our potential or overcome these challenges

without our greatly valued staff. They continue to impress

me every day and my sincere thanks and appreciation

goes out to everyone for their significant efforts. I am

proud of their professionalism and the passion, drive and

dedication they possess is admirable. Although it is vital

to recognise their achievements it would be remiss of me

not to acknowledge the pressure they are under, and they

should be assured that the entire senior management team

is working hard to make their lives easier, for example by

introducing a new health and wellbeing hub during 2015/16.

The hard work of staff is reflected in the feedback we receive

from our patients. The past year has seen a 41% increase

in the number of compliments. Over 2,000 letters of thanks

were received from people who experienced their caring

compassion first-hand. The results of the ‘friends and family

test’ (featured as a priority in our Quality Report) are also

encouraging. Patients are asked if they would recommend

the care they have received to friends and family. An

impressive 94% of respondents would recommend the care

they received. We want to build further on these foundations

and have therefore extended this test for staff because it

is equally important for them to have an opportunity to

let us know whether they would recommend us as a good

employer. They are also asked if they’d recommend the

organisation to their friends and family if they required care

or treatment.

Some of our priorities for the coming year are: tackling

sepsis, introducing the electronic care system and improving

clinical outcomes for conditions such as heart attacks and

potentially life-threatening conditions in children (known as

the paediatric big six). Our people and our patients are what

matters most.

Ken WenmanChief Executive

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY06

We deliver a wide range of emergency and urgent care services across a fifth of England, covering Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the former Avon area. Our operational area, covering 10,000 square miles, is

predominantly rural, but includes large urban areas like

Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter, Bath, Swindon, Gloucester,

Bournemouth and Poole. We have three operational

divisions: East Division – Dorset, Somerset and North

Somerset, North Division – Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bristol,

South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and

West Division – Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Our

headquarters is situated in Exeter, Devon.

We are the primary provider of 999 services across the South

West, but also offer the following:

❙ Urgent Care Services (UCS) – GP out-of-hours medical care

across Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset.*

❙ NHS 111 call-handling and triage for Cornwall and the

Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.*

❙ Patient Transport Service (PTS) across Bristol, North

Somerset, South Gloucestershire and the Isles of

Scilly.

about us

*Accurate for 2014/15.

**Volunteers include community first responders and those

from other organisations including fire responders, St John

Ambulance, off-duty GPs and the RNLI.

Our Board is made up of 13 members; our chairman, chief

executive, six non-executive directors and five executive

directors, who bring a wealth of knowledge, skills and

experience to the Trust. We also have a highly valued council

of governors representing the views of our public and staff

membership, which stands at around 19,000.

4,285 staff supported by

3,200 volunteers**

The people we employ


SUMMARY

ISLES OF SCILLY

west division

east division

north division

D E V O N

C O R N W A L L

D O R S E T

W I L T S H I R E

S O M E R S E T

G L O U C E S T E R S H I R ES O U T H G L O U C E S T E R S H I R E

B A T H & N O R T H E A S T S O M E R S E T

N O R T H S O M E R S E T

B R I S T O L

about us

10,000square miles20% of mainland England

We cover

Headquarters

Clinical Hubs / Admin Hub

Ambulance Stations

Hazardous Area Response Team bases

Air Ambulance bases

Divisional boundary

We operate across the South West from

96ambulance stations

6air ambulance bases

3clinical control

rooms

2hazardous

area response team bases

5.3m residents

17.5m visitors

The public we serve

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY10

what we do

Completed 99,907patient transport journeys

Received918,227NHS 111 calls

Helped

155,965 patients calling theirout of hours service

Responded to a total of

867,505 emergency and urgent incidents

EMERGENCY 999 SERVICEThe Trust provides emergency care to more than 2,500 patients each day. For those suffering life-threatening emergencies, the speed of response and quality of care are key to their survival and recovery.

Patients needing help with less serious medical conditions are treated at a location most suited to their needs. This might be in their own home or at an alternative treatment facility outside a ‘traditional’ hospital setting.

By tailoring the care of our patients in this way we can provide more and more people with the right care in the right place at the right time.

By avoiding hospital admissions in approximately 50% of cases over the past 12 months, unnecessary trips to emergency departments have been avoided. Not only has this saved a significant amount of money to the wider healthcare economy, but we can be assured that our patients are receiving the most appropriate care.

URGENT CARE SERVICEWe provide urgent care services across Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. These services can be accessed when GP surgeries are closed (overnight, bank holidays and at weekends). Services such as the Single Point of Access (SPoA) in Dorset are also included within this service line.

Our urgent care services are provided by a wide range of staff including nurses, doctors and paramedics, and we are pleased to be performing well against the national quality requirements for this important area of patient care. During 2014/15 we helped 155,965 patients via our urgent care service.

NHS 111 SERVICEIn February 2013 NHS 111 was established in England. During the 2014/15 financial year we provided the service across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

Callers can use NHS 111 for medical advice and assistance

in non-emergency situations. The aim of this telephone help and advice line, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is to make it easier for residents and visitors alike to access healthcare services locally.

PATIENT TRANSPORT SERVICEWe deliver patient transport services for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, as well as on the Isles of Scilly. This means providing the transport for patients requiring non-urgent treatment including the attendance of outpatient appointments, admission to or

discharge from hospital and transfers between hospitals.

During 2014/15 the Trust delivered almost 100,000 patient journeys via this service line.


SUMMARY

how we respondedTo support the delivery of its activities the Trust has a diverse fleet of vehicles

306ambulances

234rapid responsevehicles

7motorcycles

57patient transport

service vehicles

6helicopters

5bicycles

1boat

AM

BULANCE

CYCLE RESPONSEUNIT

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY14

The Trust has a network of thousands of volunteers working hard to support staff and help patients across our region. The role they play is invaluable and in the past 12 months they have helped over 60,000 patients whilst an ambulance is on its way.There are in excess of 5,000 individual responders operating

across the Trust area. The number of volunteers has increased

significantly since last year and so has the number of

incidents they have attended. The types of responder we are

fortunate to have support from are:

❙ Community first responders: volunteers who support

their local community by attending certain emergency

incidents, such as cardiac arrests.

❙ St John Ambulance responders: volunteers working

for St John Ambulance who respond within their local

community.

❙ Fire co-responders: retained fire fighters who attend

emergency calls on behalf of the Trust as part of their day

to day role with the fire and rescue service.

❙ RNLI co-responders: lifeguards who patrol the beaches and

respond to local incidents.

❙ Establishment based responders: individuals who respond

to an incident that may occur in the area they work.

Examples include railway stations or shopping centres.

❙ Staff responders: ambulance clinicians who volunteer to

attend emergencies in their locality when off-duty.

❙ BASICS Doctors: members of the British Association for

Immediate Care who volunteer to attend emergencies,

supporting ambulance clinicians in providing enhanced

care for patients.

All volunteers provide an initial response whilst an ambulance

is on its way. The community engagement team has also

worked hard to increase the number of public access

defibrillators available. There are now 630 across the region

which can be accessed by anyone around the clock to treat

cardiac patients whilst an ambulance is on its way.

the role of our responders16 ANNUAL

REPORT2014/15SUMMARY

In 2010, the Trust developed the ‘Right Care, Right Place, Right Time’ initiative, a five-year commissioner-funded agreement that committed us to reducing unnecessary admissions to emergency departments (ED) by 10% through managing patients using alternative pathways. Many of the patients that call 999 can be managed safely and effectively without sending an emergency ambulance to convey them to an ED.An increasing proportion of calls can be managed through

telephone assessment and sometimes by referral to another

service. An example of this would be when patients make

their own way to a minor injuries unit to be seen and treated.

Over half of our patients can be treated by highly skilled

ambulance clinicians in their own home, practicing skills that

delivering the right care2

have historically only been delivered within a hospital – such

as suturing (stitching) a wound.

Delivering the right care for patients, outside of an ED

wherever possible, has three significant advantages. Patients

receive care without having to leave their home, EDs

have greater capacity to deal with true emergencies and

emergency ambulances can be better utilised to attend

patients who most need a rapid response.

During 2014/15 the success of this programme continued

with the introduction of the Right Care2 initiative. Despite

a 9.75% rise in in the number of emergency 999 incidents

received, over 12,000 fewer patients were taken to EDs

than last year. Managing patient care more effectively in the

community has led to savings of around £9 million for the

wider healthcare economy.

careplacetimeRI

GH

T

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY18

delivering for you

Challenging national performance targets are set out by the Government and apply to all NHS ambulance services across the country.Our ability to achieve these targets is affected by a number

of factors. We are the most rural ambulance service, with the

highest proportion of elderly people anywhere in the country.

Additionally, during the holiday season the population of

many areas across the South West swells considerably.

Coupled with this is the number of isolated communities

and poor road networks. This year the unprecedented

levels of demand placed upon the service (particularly

during the festive season of 2014), along with the

continuing issues of hospital handover delays and the

national shortage of paramedics all affected our ability

to respond. A brief explanation for each call category is

opposite:

Category A8 (Red 1)Category A Red 1 incidents that are immediately life

threatening and the most time critical should receive an

emergency response within eight minutes in 75% of cases,

irrespective of location. Eight minutes is just 480 seconds.

Category A8 (Red 2)Category A Red 2 incidents presenting conditions which

may be life threatening but less time critical than Red 1 and

should receive an emergency response within eight minutes

in 75% of cases, irrespective of location.

Category A19Category A incidents presenting conditions, which may

be immediately life threatening and should receive an

ambulance response at the scene (an equipped vehicle able

to transport a patient in a clinically safe manner if required)

within 19 minutes in 95% of cases, irrespective of location.

Category A8 Red 1

75.24%National Target 75%Performance figure reflecting the Dispatch on Disposition trial

75.24%

Category A8 Red 2


72.30%

Category A19


93.78%

The Dispatch on Disposition pilot, which the Trust led on

in the early part of 2015, means we have an additional 90

seconds to assess and triage the calls which are less time

critical. This is why the results show a slight improvement in

performance for the Red 2 and A 19 categories. The results

of this trial were encouraging and so the Trust continues to

use the system.


SUMMARY

Ambulance trusts are required to publish all data in relation to Ambulance Quality Indicators (ACQIs) on a monthly basis, both locally (on the Trust’s website) and nationally (to the Department of Health). ACQIs are used to understand the quality of care provided, focussing particularly on the outcome of care provided, as well as the speed of response to patients.

ACQIs are used to ensure we provide continuous

improvements in the care of our patients. As a complete set,

they provide a comprehensive and balanced view of care

and shows how ambulance services are performing. These

indicators are similar to those in other areas of the health

service, like emergency departments for example. Although

there are no national targets relating to these indicators, we

have agreed some locally with our clinical commissioning

groups (CCGs).

Ambulance Clinical Quality Indicators (ACQIs)

Indicator CCG local performance threshold %

Actual available performance (April to Nov 2014)%

National average %

% of heart attack patients suffering an acute St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) who receive appropriate care

85 89.2 80.7

Outcome for suspected stroke patients who receive appropriate care (%)

95 97.4 97.1

Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at time of arrival at hospital

24 24.8 27.5

% of face, arm and speech tested (FAST) patients eligible for clot busting drugs who arrive at an acute stroke centre within an hour of their call

57 56.9 60.6

Locally agreed performance %

Actual performance (8 July 2014-31 March 2015) %

National average %

% of patients whose treatment is complete within four hours of arrival (Tiverton Urgent Care Centre)

95 99.43 N/A

Locally agreed performance %

Actual available performance (April 2014-Feb 2015)%

National average %

Calls closed with telephone advice N/A 8.3 8

Calls managed without transport to ED N/A 52.3 37.1

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY22

patient experienceWe place a lot of emphasis on patient experience and actively encourage feedback about our services – whether positive or negative. In this way we can continue to develop and deliver the highest quality care.When sharing comments, concerns and complaints with

us, people can be assured that we take them seriously and

constantly monitor all the feedback we receive. Lessons

learned and all improvements and changes are reported

regularly to our Board of Directors. In fact, we have a group

dedicated to this important area of work (our Learning

from Experience Group). We also actively engage with

patients and the public whenever we can, including face

to face contact (at events and shows). We always respond

to comments and feedback posted on the Patient Opinion

website, as well as anything submitted via our own website.

We have also produced postcards to hand out to patients

enabling them to record any feedback, and are exploiting the

benefits of social media more frequently.

During the year, 271 patient stories were posted on the

Patient Opinion site and, as at 31 March 2015, these had

been viewed more than 47,590 times. There has also been

an increasing emphasis placed on the Friends and Family Test

this year. The table opposite provides a breakdown of the

feedback we’ve received.

Patient experience measures

2014/15 2013/14

Comments, concerns and complaints

1268 1020

Compliments 2055 1454

General enquiries (including issues such as lost property and sign-posting patients to other organisations)

857 711

Complaints reviewed by the Ombudsman upheld

2 1 (partly upheld)

The number of compliments increased by 41%. Comments,

concerns and complaints have also risen by almost 20%.

‘I would like to send a personal thank you to the crew of the ambulance who saved my life. Their politeness and encouragement to my wife was superb too. You all do a great job. Thank you.’Mr K of Tewkesbury

‘I sat in my van dialling 999, I was having a heart attack, although at the time I was unaware of what was wrong. The paramedic in the car was closely followed by 3 paramedics in an ambulance. Because of their professionalism, control, expertise and their ability to work together as a well-trained team, with a little humour thrown in for good measure, I still have my life and my family still has me.’Mrs P of Bath

‘Thank you for the excellent care given to my husband. I phoned 111 and received a truly caring service, with all the right questions being asked. I have used 111 once before, where once again, I received a wonderful, caring response. Please convey our thanks to all concerned. I think the 111 service is excellent.’Mrs M of Dorset


SUMMARY

Awarding and rewarding staff

We held three award ceremonies to celebrate and formally

recognise the hard work of our staff. Attended by a

number of dignitaries, a wide variety of accolades were

presented.

Continued to provide the right care, in the right place

at the right time

The Right Care2 programme has ensured that even more

patients are able to be safely cared for in the community.

During 2014/15 over 12,000 fewer patients were conveyed

to EDs than the previous year, despite a 9.75% increase in

the number of emergency 999 incidents received. Managing

patients more effectively in the community has led to savings

of around £9 million for the wider healthcare economy.

Introduced the electronic care system and use of

e-PCR

In July 2014, a pilot began involving the trial of an

electronic patient clinical record (e-PCR) in Taunton. This

highlightsof the year

means capturing and holding all patient data electronically

as opposed to using a hard copy, hand written form. Other

pilot sites including Derriford in Plymouth also began using

the innovative new system. A further roll-out will take place

during 2015/16.

Safeguarding Champions recruited

A total of 17 safeguarding champions were announced

during Summer 2014. This year, a great deal of work has

been undertaken by the safeguarding team and staff referrals

of vulnerable adults and children have risen from 5,814 in

2013/14 to 7,722 in 2014/15.

Started running the Urgent Care Centre in Tiverton

In July we took over the management of Tiverton Urgent

Care Centre which provides a seven day a week GP and

nursing service for Tiverton and surrounding areas. Patients

continue to be assessed within 15 minutes of arrival at the

centre in 99% of all cases.

Responded to the Ebola threat

During 2014/15, the Trust responded to the national

threat of Ebola, investing in additional personal protective

equipment and dedicated ambulances. During the outbreak

we managed around 20 incidents involving patients who

were at risk of potentially having Ebola; thankfully all tested

negative for the disease.

Handled a record number of incidents

During the week commencing 29 December 2014 the Trust

recorded 19,190 incidents across the South West and on 1

January 2015 the activity level on that one day was 3,334

incidents, by far the busiest individual day for 999 activity

reported in the Trust’s history.

Hosted a Royal Visit

In February, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal officially

opened the new Ambulance Special Operations Centre

(ASOC) near Exeter, providing a permanent bespoke facility

for the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

Led on the Dispatch on Disposition pilot

In February 2015 the Trust was delighted to be chosen to

pilot a new way for ambulance services to respond to 999

calls. The trial allows call-handlers a small amount of extra

time to assess and triage the patient over the telephone

before dispatching an appropriate resource to respond. The

results are encouraging and the pilot has been extended.

Launch of the Health and Wellbeing Group

In October 2014 the Health and Wellbeing Consultation

Group was launched. The aim was to gather as much

feedback from as many people as possible. Staff were

encouraged to provide feedback as to what their idea of

good health and wellbeing is. The results will inform the

plans for the Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Hub, which is

being launched during 2015/16.HRH The Princess Royal watches a demonstration at the official opening of our HART base in Exeter.

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY26

Urgent Care

Service

our income

what we spent our money on

4m 17m17m177m 7m7m

Total £229mTotal

£227.6mAccident

and Emergency (999)

Hazardous Area

Response Team

(HART)*

NHS 111

OtherPatientTransportService

includingWinter pressuresTraffic Incident insuranceAirwave Radio Project team (DH)ECS projectMedical Transport ServiceEducation & Training

The Trust’s income for the year was £229m, compared with

£226m in 2013/14. The increase can be attributed to additional

funds for our accident and emergency 999 contract, as well as

the electronic care system project and income to deliver NHS 111.

This chart shows how we spent

our money. Staff costs make

up the majority of our spend,

with our frontline personnel

constituting the greatest

proportion of our workforce.

164.3mClinical staff - 143.2m

Non-clinical staff - 21.1m

8.4m

4.7m

2.8m

11.7m

10.8m

24.9m

Staff costs

Supply and services

Establishment**

Transport

Premises

Depreciation

Other depreciation

** Establishment covers a number of areas and includes phone calls and line rental, mobile phone contracts, radios, postage, stationery, printing and staff recruitment.* National funding

These figures do not include

finance costs. Our surplus

for 2014/15 was £0.2m. This

surplus is reinvested in our

services.


SUMMARY

In addition to our mission, vision and core values we have five strategic goals and it is these which underpin our future plans. In fact we have set corporate objectives which are all linked to key performance indicators so we can monitor our progress.Our key targets and ambitions are to:

❙ provide the highest quality standards of care we would be

pleased for our own relatives to experience;

❙ provide a range of emergency and urgent care services 24

hours a day, seven days a week;

❙ continue delivering compassionate care in the most

clinically appropriate, safe and effective way;

❙ continue developing our workforce, providing staff

with opportunities for growth and support, as well as

development;

❙ work innovatively to ensure we achieve the best value for

money whilst driving forward quality;

❙ be market leaders of emergency and urgent care systems;

❙ influence local health and social care systems in managing

periods of high pressure and demand;

❙ ensure our financial sustainability by maintaining financial

stability;

❙ strengthen resilience, capacity and capability so that we

are capable of and prepared for continual development

and transformational change.

We also have an Operational Plan and Integrated Business

Plan (five year strategic plan) and these documents provide

more detailed information about our business objectives.

Copies are available on our website www.swast.nhs.uk or

from Trust Headquarters, Abbey Court, Eagle Way, Exeter,

Devon, EX2 7HY.

Quality Improvements for 2015/16

Our Quality Improvements for 2015/16 are developed with

our governors and commissioners, monitored during the year

and will be reviewed within next year’s annual report.

These are:

Patient safety

Priority 1: Sign Up to Safety - this is a national campaign,

launched by NHS England designed to strengthen patient

safety in the NHS.

Clinical effectiveness

Priority 2: Paediatric Big Six - a focus on tackling potentially

life-threatening conditions in children.

Patient experience

Priority 3: Frequent Callers - using partnership working to

tackle the problem of some people dialling 999 excessively.

looking forward

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY30

valuing staffWe greatly value our workforce and fully appreciate the pressure they are under as demand for our services continues to rise. At the end of March 2015 we employed a total of 4,285

people. The majority of our staff work either clinically or

operationally, covering the following roles:

❙ critical care paramedics;

❙ clinical hub staff;

❙ clinical operational tutors;

❙ clinical support officers;

❙ clinical team leaders;

❙ emergency care assistants (ECAs);

❙ Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) paramedics;

❙ lead paramedics;

❙ paramedics;

❙ specialist paramedics;

❙ technicians, advanced technicians and ambulance

practitioners.

We also have 177 student paramedics, 602 bank staff,

400 sessional and 7 employed GPs who support the

delivery of the out of hours service, and thousands of

responders who support the delivery of the emergency 999

service.

Listening to our staff

Staff engagement is one of our highest priorities. There are

a wide range of methods we use to communicate with our

workforce and strongly encourage two way dialogue. We

greatly value their feedback and do our best to act on it

wherever possible. Valuing staff and providing them with

numerous opportunities for progression and development is

key to delivering high quality, patient-centred services.

Some of the ways we use to encourage dialogue and listen

to our workforce are:

❙ chief executive’s video blog;

❙ chief executive’s weekly bulletin and other corporate

newsletters;

❙ surveys;

❙ online chat-rooms;

❙ face-to-face meetings;

❙ website, intranet and emails.

This year, we have also introduced the Friends and Family

Test for staff, who are being asked how likely it is they

would recommend the Trust as a place to work and to their

friends and family for treatment. The results so far are very

encouraging.


SUMMARY

engaging with the publicListening to the views of our communities is very important in helping us to continue delivering patient-led services. By sharing their views and experiences residents and visitors across the region can help to inform future service delivery. During the last financial year we attended 148 patient and

public involvement (PPI) events. These include county shows,

community fetes and fairs, school and college visits and

public health awareness days, as well as events managed by

partner organisations. We also provided 1,262 members of

the public with free blood pressure checks and health advice.

A further 48 people received a free NHS health check and our

governors signed up hundreds of new members.

ANNUALREPORT2014/15

SUMMARY34

Urgent Care Centre CliniciansThe urgent care centre at Tiverton in Devon is staffed by

a highly skilled team including nurses and GPs. They treat

patients presenting with a wide variety of conditions and

have the ability to suture (stitch) wounds, perform x-rays and

diagnose sprains, strains and fractures as well as apply plaster

casts and offer patients follow up appointments, meaning

they do not need to visit a hospital emergency department.

They have an excellent track record for treating patients

quickly and are able to triage over 99% of patients within 15

minutes of their arrival.

NHS 111 Call HandlersStaff working to deliver our NHS 111 services are based

either at the clinical hub at St Leonards in Dorset or in

Exeter. They handle dozens of calls every day and are skilled

in providing advice and reassurance to callers. Often they

signpost them to an alternative service provider depending

on their condition, but also have the ability to refer them

to the 999 service or call on the expertise of one of the

clinicians based in the hub.

Ambulance Care AssistantsAmbulance care assistants (ACAs) work on our patient

transport service and provide support to individuals in Bristol,

North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, who are unable,

for medical reasons, to make their own way to hospital.

This is generally non-emergency work involving admissions

and discharges from hospital or attendance at outpatient

clinics. Their patients can be taken to a wide variety of places

including renal dialysis centres, oncology and hospice centres

and other care facilities. ACAs are responsible for the welfare

of their patients, both throughout the journey and during

transfer to and from the ambulance. They ensure that all

patients are transported both safely and in comfort and that

their medical are met.

meet some of our staff


SUMMARY

sign up at our website ring 01392 261502 email [email protected] you are a member you could go on to become a governor and form part of the council of governors.

Become a member and have your say

Provide us with your experience and suggestions. You can do this either as a patient, carer or family member, or even just as a member of the public with an interest in your local ambulance service.Please see a list of contact information below

If you are interested in becoming a Community First Responder and joining a local group, further details are available on the Trust website. This involves receiving training and responding voluntarily to certain life-threatening emergencies locally. These schemes operate mainly in rural areas.

01392 261500

Abbey Court, Eagle Way, Exeter, Devon EX2 7HYwww.swast.nhs.uk

[email protected]

@swasFTfacebook.com/swasFT

There are a number of ways you can get involved with the Trust

have your say


SUMMARY

© South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 2015

If you would like a copy of this report in another format including braille, audio tape, total communications, large print, another language or any other format, please contact:

Email: [email protected] Telephone: 01392 261649 Fax: 01392 261560

Post: Marketing and Communications Directorate, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Abbey Court, Eagle Way, Exeter, Devon, EX2 7HY

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