Ambulance Service

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  • A STRICKEN youth was airlifted to safety after a playground incident involving a group of teenagers at Avon Valley School.   Rugby Advertiser 15 October 2001
  • AMBULANCE staff for Rugby are enthusiastic, hard working and committed to delivering high quality services, according to a new report. But despite this, a report into the Warwickshire Ambulance Service by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) has highlighted several areas needing improvement.  Rugby Advertiser 30 October 2002
  • Air ambulance flies injured man to hospital. THE air ambulance was in action this week after a three-vehicle pile-up on the A5. Rugby Advertiser 28 August 2003
  • A FAMILY involved in a three car pile-up near Rugby has praised the area's Air Ambulance Service.  Rugby Advertiser 04 September 2003
  • A RUGBY man is furious after receiving 'disgusting' service by Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Trust. Richard Chadband, of Kilworth Road, Rugby, is likely to make a formal complaint after his wife Joanne was treated by one of the trust's Emergency Care Practitioners last Thursday.  Rugby Advertiser 30 June 2005
  • TWO emergency fast response cars now form part of the air ambulance service that helps save lives in Rugby. Rugby Advertiser 28 July 2005
  • A ROW has broken out in the skies above Rugby after emergency crews warned that life-saving services are being swallowed up by bigger 'more aggressive' regional operations - and could lead to the closure of vital services. But regional air ambulance crews have slammed the claim by Rugby's local branch as irresponsible and inaccurate. The debate started when the director of the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, started just two years ago, said the Birmingham and West Midlands' County Air Ambulance (which serves 11 counties including Warwickshire) is taking money away from their charity by claiming to be the 'local air ambulance' for Rugby people. Rugby Advertiser 18 August 2005
  • THE country's busiest air ambulance is still flying high and saving local lives since it was launched two years' ago. Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance first took to the skies on October 1, 2003.  Rugby Advertiser 13 October  2005
  • RADICAL proposals to transform key public services in Rugby could put lives at risk, a leading councillor has warned. The changes, which are part of Government attempts to reorganise the delivery of major public services across the country, would affect police, health, fire and ambulance provisions in the town. Rugby Advertiser 10 November 2005
  • PROPOSALS to merge health services have been condemned as 'outrageous' and could put lives in Rugby at risk, councillors have warned. Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance NHS Trust is one of the bodies earmarked for abolition under government plans currently being considered. Under the proposals, two-thirds of ambulance trusts in England will disappear and be replaced by enlarged 'super-forces' covering larger areas. Speaking at the meeting of the Rugby Area Committee last week, councillors voiced their opposition to the scheme, claiming that rural areas of Rugby in particular could be neglected if the plans were introduced. Rugby Advertiser 19 January 2006
  • Trust joins bid to fight ambulance merger. Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, which funds care for the elderly and mentally ill in North Staffordshire, has come out against proposals to merge the county's ambulance trust into a West Midlands service.  Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  Stoke Sentinel 20 January 2006
  • A lack of local knowledge involved in changes to health service provision could put Rugby patients' lives at risk, it has been claimed.  The Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Trust is at the centre of proposals that could see the merger of four Ambulance trusts across the West Midlands.  Supporters say the new proposals will leave more money for front-line services and improve efficiency.  However the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum for the Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service say that operators in the new Trust  may lack crucial local knowledge - leading to lost time and possibly lost lives.  Rugby Advertiser 16 March 2006
  • Ambulance centres facing axe. Moves by ambulance chiefs in the West Midlands to close two of the five ambulance call centres in the area were reluctantly welcomed by leaders of the two towns were there will be new headquarters. The proposed merger between West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Staffordshire Ambulance Service is likely to result in the two bases at Stafford and Brierley Hill being retained alongside a support centre in Leamington Spa. County Councillor Len Turner said: "I cannot see how anybody could consider it bad news for Stafford," he said. "If we have to have a centralised unit for Staffordshire - which it seems we do because they have forgotten the meaning of democracy - then I would welcome it. I would rather see us keep our own ambulance service. There may have been one or two corners that wanted polishing off a little bit but in the main the service was working fine and if it ain't broke, why fix it ? Having experienced the ambulance service personally in the last few weeks I can say it is fantastic what they are able to do." Rachel Harris, councillor for Brierley Hill, said she was pleased to see the town's call centre at Millennium Point would not be affected. "It is a very important part of the Waterfront trading area and for the town of Brierley Hill as a whole," she said. "I am pleased it is not one of the centres earmarked for closure." The trust says the changes, discussed by ambulance chiefs at a board meeting on the 25th of this month and followed by a three month consultation period, will see enhanced use of clinicians and new technology to ensure calls are answered faster. The changes will also include contingency measures to cope with a "catastrophic failure" of services. The trust added that despite the reorganisation, it was committed to no redundancies. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of West Midlands Express 7 Star 23 June 2007
  • PARAMEDIC RECOVERS AFTER ATTACK. A FEMALE paramedic is recovering after being attacked by a pair of violent thieves. The woman was injured after disturbing two men attempting to break into a marked ambulance car which was parked outside the ambulance station in Brownsover Lane, Rugby at shortly before 1.30am on Friday morning. The ambulance worker was inside the station when she heard a noise outside. She went out to investigate and found two males dressed in hoodies attempting to break into the marked car. She shouted at them to leave the vehicle alone, but one of the males then ran at her and punched her in the face, causing a cut above her eye. The two thieves then ran off along Brownsover Lane. It is believed they then ran off towards Kipling's Island. The ambulance paramedic was taken to hospital for treatment to the cut. Rugby Advertiser 6 July 2007
  • Paramedics rush man to wrong hospital. AMBULANCE bosses are investigating after confused paramedics took an Overslade man to the wrong hospital for potentially life-saving treatment. Tony Dunk, of Baffin Close, rang an ambulance after suffering a serious angina attack at about 11.30pm on Saturday. After being collected, paramedics took him straight to Rugby's Hospital of St. Cross. They wheeled him out for treatment - but were left 'amazed' when doctors told them to go to Coventry instead. Recent changes mean some seriously ill Rugby patients now go to Coventry's University Hospital for treatment - but terminally ill Mr. Dunk's paramedics were unaware of the changes. The 53-year-old said: "If you are ill, these delays may mean the difference between life and death. I think it's disgusting and terrible for people like myself." Under proposals introduced earlier this year in a review of Warwickshire's health services, patients suffering 'acute' conditions such as heart attacks and strokes are taken to Coventry - and access to better facilities - during 'off-peak' times through the week and at weekends. The new changes do not affect Accident and Emergency services at St. Cross, which operate 24/7. Mr. Dunk, who also has chronic asthma, heart and lung disorders and needs regular oxygen treatment, called a doctor after suffering chest pains. Despite being taken to an 'empty' St. Cross, Mr. Dunk said doctors told paramedics to go to Coventry instead. He said: "I said to the paramedics, 'if it had been a heart attack, would it be the same treatment'? They did not know. It's a terrible situation if ambulance crew don't know where to go." A 'concerned' West Midlands Ambulance service spokesperson said: "An internal investigation has been launched which will find out exactly what happened and what lessons can be learnt from it. The trust would be pleased to meet with the patient concerned, at a time convenient to him, to discuss it further." Rugby Advertiser 22 November 2007

     

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Sheila Porter-Williams
Campaign for Health Service Democracy
Green Haven, Halfway Lane
Dunchurch
Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 6RD
sheilaCHSD@porter-williams.freeserve.co.uk