Trust claims ambulance service is committed to patients and healthcare

9:00am Sunday 30th September 2007

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THE North West Ambulance Service is committed to "taking healthcare to patients and patients to healthcare", according to trust chairman, Mary Whyham.

Speaking at the Trust's first annual general meeting this week, Ms Whyham praised staff's dedication and commitment to patients and spoke about a clear statement of purpose and focused strategic aims that will establish a clear direction of travel for the organisation.

Reflecting upon the previous year since the four former ambulance trusts in the north west merged, the chairman praised how far the organisation had come in such a short time but recognised there was still some way to go.

"The merger of the four former trusts is one of the most radical changes within our health service that we have seen in some years.

"However, taking healthcare to patients and patients to healthcare is our firm commitment and we will achieve this by leading and shaping the treatment and transport of the ill or injured in the North West, when and where they need it."

Ms Whyham went on to thank all the stakeholders that NWAS has built relationships with over the last year, including the Patient and Public Involvement forums.

Also speaking at the AGM, NWAS Chief Executive, John Burnside, explained what the Trust needs to achieve in order to become a flagship service which can help shape ambulance services in the future.

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For any ambulance service, meeting performance targets is a key priority and we are expected to meet those quickly. At the same time, we need to increase the quality and safety of care that we provide to patients and ensure we have a strong clinical governance framework which will reassure the public and our stakeholders.

Operations is our strength and with aligned clinical supervision and leadership we can give, what in the main is an unsupervised workforce, the support and guidance they need, whether that means calling upon an advanced or consultant paramedic. One of the key problems for frontline staff was that there was no career path - where does a Paramedic go? We want to create a workforce where a Paramedic, if they chose, can become a senior or advanced paramedic and then become a Consultant Paramedic.

"There is still a long way to go, however I am confident we have built a strong management structure which has given us the capacity and capability to create a forward thinking, modern service which puts the welfare of patients at the forefront of everything we do.