South Western Ambulance Service
| South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | |
 | |
| Area: | South West England |
|---|---|
| Population: | 5.3 million residents |
| Size: | 51,871 km |
| Staff: | 4,000+ |
| Chief Executive (Chief Ambulance Officer): | Ken Wenman |
| Stations: | 96 + 6 Air Bases |
| HQ: | Exeter |
| Website: | www |
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 (the counties and unitary authorities of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, the Isles of Scilly, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire).[1] On March 1, 2011 SWASFT became the first ambulance service in the country to become a Foundation Trust. The Trust merged with neighbouring Great Western Ambulance Service on 1 February 2013.
SWASFT serves a total population of more than 5.3 million and is estimated to receive an influx of over 17.5 million visitors each year. The operational area is predominantly rural but also includes large urban centres including Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter, Bath, Swindon, Gloucester, Bournemouth and Poole.
There is in excess of 3,000 individual volunteer responders operating across the Trust area. In 2014/15 these responders helped more than 60,000 patients.
The Trust’s core operations include the following service lines:
- Emergency ambulance 999 services (A&E);
- Urgent Care Services (UCS) – GP out-of-hours medical care (Dorset and Gloucestershire);
- Patient Transport Services (PTS) – non-emergency transport for eligible patients with a medical need for transport (Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire);
- NHS 111 call-handling and triage services for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon and Dorset;
- Tiverton Urgent Care Centre.
It is one of ten Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services and employs more than 4,000 mainly clinical and operational staff (including Paramedics, Emergency Care Practitioners, Advanced Technicians, Ambulance Care Assistants and Nurse Practitioners) plus GPs and around 3,200 volunteers (including community first responders, BASICS doctors, fire co-responders and volunteer PTS drivers).
Facts and figures
The Trust is one of the largest in England. It covers an area of 51,871 km and 827 miles (1,331 km) of coastline.[2]
In 2014/15 SWASFT responded to a total of 867,505 emergency and urgent incidents, received 918,227 NHS 111 calls and completed 99,907 Patient Transport Service journeys.
There are 96 ambulance stations, six air ambulance bases, three clinical control rooms (999 control rooms), two Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) bases and one boat across the South Western Ambulance Service operational area.
Patient feedback
SWASFT place a lot of emphasis on patient experience and actively encourage feedback about its services - whether positive or negative. Lessons learned from the feedback, and all improvements and changes, are reported to its Board of Directors. The Trust also engages with patients and the public at events and shows, as well as online. The number of compliments received by the Trust in 2014/15 increased by 41% to 2,055. Complaints also rose by 20% to 1,268.[3] The easiest way to contact the Trust is online at their website.
Divisions and stations
The Trust is split into three divisions:
- West Division covering Devon and Cornwall, including its Headquarters at Exeter
- East Division covering Somerset and Dorset
- North Division consisting of the footprint of the former Great Western Ambulance Service
The Trust has 96 ambulance stations among the counties that it serves:
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Somerset
- Avon
- Avonmouth
- Bristol
- Keynsham
- Soundwell
- Yate
- North Bristol Operations Centre
- Almondsbury
- Falfield
- Nailsea
- Weston-super-Mare
- Churchill
- Wiltshire
- Gloucestershire
Vehicle fleet
- 306 - 999 Emergency Ambulances
- 57 Patient Transport Ambulances
- 234 Rapid Response Vehicles
- 7 Rapid Response Motorcycles
- 6 Air ambulance helicopters
- 5 Bicycles
- 2 Hazardous Area Response Teams (based in Exeter and Bristol)
- 1 Boat – ALN 043 'Star of Life’ Wave Saver 1000 Class Ambulance Boat
Tiverton Minor Injuries Unit
In May 2014 the Trust won a contract to run a doctor-led minor injuries unit at Tiverton District Hospital.
The Urgent Care Centre at Tiverton and District Hospital, Kennedy Way, Tiverton, is open seven days a week between 8am and 10pm and is staffed by a team of highly qualified general practitioners (GPs) and nurse practitioners.
You do not need an appointment to visit the centre and it provides treatment for a host of minor injuries and ailments including:
- Cuts, grazes and wounds;
- Sprains, strains, muscle or joint injury;
- Broken bones (fractures);
- A bite, sting or skin rash;
- Treatment for a minor infection;
- Minor head injuries;
- Eye problems including infections, scratches or something that is stuck in your eye
You may also be referred to attend the Tiverton Urgent Care Centre via the NHS111 service or after looking up your symptoms on the NHS Choices website.
For more information about the Tiverton Urgent Care Centre visit: http://www.northdevonhealth.nhs.uk/services/community/tiverton/
See also
References
- ↑ "What we do". South Western Ambulance Service. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ↑ "Inspection Report" (PDF). Care Quality Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ↑ "SWASFT Annual Report" (PDF).
