Bath MP Wera Hobhouse recently visited Bath’s ambulance station on Bathwick Street, finding out more about the challenges being faced by staff.
MP Wera Hobhouse outside Bath’s ambulance station
The Liberal Democrat MP met leaders and staff during her time at the station on Friday 11th July, hearing first-hand about the issues they encounter on a daily basis.
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is responsible for the provision of ambulance services across an area of 10,000 square miles – equivalent to 20% of mainland England.
Their operational area is predominantly rural, but also includes large urban centres including Bath, Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter, Swindon, Gloucester, Bournemouth and Poole.
The Trust serves a population of over 5.7 million, many of which are aging, and is estimated to receive an influx of over 23 million visitors each year.
Meeting with Dr John Martin, the Trust’s Chief Executive, Paul Birkett-Wendes, Head of Operations for the Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) region, and Oliver Dalton, Operations manager BSW, Mrs Hobhouse, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Emergency Care, heard how so-called “Hospital Handover Delays” are one of their biggest challenges.
For their part, SWASFT is working very closely with hospitals across the region to help ensure their ambulance clinicians can get back out on the road as quickly as possible to respond to other 999 calls in the community.
Since 2020, they have increased the number of hours their ambulances are on the road from 37,000 to over 50,000 per week across the South West.
They have also improved their remote patient triage with clinicians in their Emergency Operations Centres assessing 999 calls, directing patients to the right care and reducing unnecessary hospital visits. As a result, SWASFT now has some of the lowest conveyance rates to Emergency Departments in the country.
In addition, they have teams of so-called Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers (HALOs) – dedicated paramedics working at the most challenged Emergency Departments to provide local leadership. They assist with prioritising handover of patients waiting to be transferred into hospital care.
Collaboration with system partners has led to the development of Care Coordination (CareCo) Hubs across the regions, connecting ambulance clinicians with other health and social care professionals to ensure patients access the right care, the first time, reducing unnecessary Emergency Department admissions and ambulance dispatches, meaning patients are treated closer to home.
After the discussions, Wera enjoyed a tour around the station facilities and stepped inside an ambulance where paramedics Ollie Dalton and Oli Bourton demonstrated the wide range of treatment and diagnostic equipment the teams can employ when mobile.
Dr John Martin, Chief Executive at SWASFT, said: “We were pleased to welcome Mrs Hobhouse to Bath ambulance station and appreciated the opportunity to showcase the dedication and professionalism of our teams.
“Her visit was a valuable chance to share how we’re working to improve patient care and respond to the needs of our communities across Bath and North East Somerset.”
Wera Hobhouse commented: “Delays in hospital transfers are often followed by unacceptably long waits in A&E itself: in the month of May nearly 500 people in our NHS area waited over 12 hours.
“Add to that the shocking state of access to GP appointments, which itself places more pressure on emergency care as one in eight of people who can’t get a GP appointment end up going to A&E, causing a possible 50,000 deaths last year, and you begin to get a picture of just how badly the Conservatives broke health services through their unforgivable neglect.
“The NHS and emergency medical services are now facing an emergency of their own.
“The Labour government is showing an inexcusable lack of urgency in fixing this, opting for review after review instead of delivering action for people in our area.
“We Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to show more ambition in order to get patients in our area the care they deserve. Anything less will just prolong the distress and suffering of thousands of people.
“I am full of nothing but admiration and the greatest respect for our ambulance service workers who deliver incredible care in these most challenging of circumstances.”
