Annual Report
Electronic copies of our annual reports are available to download below:
Targets, Aims and Objectives
The Trust has performance targets and Ministerial priorities for action to meet throughout the year and which are contained in annual reports, Trust Delivery Plans and Strategic documentation.
In addition to this, NIAS has a range of other key challenges to address or progress during the year. While not necessarily or explicitly referenced in plans, it will be necessary to progress
these in addition to specific priorities if we are to continue to seek to deliver a balanced ambulance service providing quality clinical care appropriate to the individual patient as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
These key challenges facing the Trust, including PfA targets, reflect the need to effectively manage the totality of the business and are outlined below in priority order:
1. Deliver Enhanced Emergency Response To Achieve 70% Of Cat A Calls Within 8 Minutes for NI rising to 75% by March 2011 & deliver baseline Cat A response at Board level of 62.5% within 8 minutes by March 2009;
2. Deliver Efficiency Savings - Cash/Non Cash Release to maintain financial balance;
3. Introduction Of Fully Funded Replacement Programme For Clinical Equipment (Monitor-Defibrillators) and Accident & Emergency And Non-Emergency Fleet
4. Make Paramedic-Administered Thrombolysis available throughout N. Ireland by March 2009;
5. Deliver Other Ministerial Priorities For Action Relevant And Applicable To NIAS, in particular clinical prioritization of non-emergency demand for transportation (Fractures; Renal; Cancer; Discharges, etc);
6. Deliver the Priorities For Action target on absence, reducing levels of absence by 10% below 2006/7 average level;
7. Revise Operational Structure To Support Delivery Of Clinical and Other Performance Objectives;
8. Develop and Introduce Proposals to Enhance Delivery of Non-Emergency Booking and Transportation of Patients
9. Further Development Of Alternative Care Pathways To Support Care In The Community And Alternatives To Hospital Attendance by Emergency Ambulance;
10. Introduce Alternative Management Of Non Life Threatening Calls (Cat C);
11. Modernise Paramedic and Non-Paramedic Staff Recruitment, Training And Development to include development and introduction of Third Level Paramedic Qualification;
12. Develop Clinical Audit And Supervision To Assure Governance Requirements In Relation To The Quality Of Care Provided;
13. Introduce Revised Arrangements For Pharmacy Provision;
14. Further Development Of Community Engagement / User Focus and Involvement/ Staff Engagement;
15. Introduction Of Fully Funded Estate Development And Renewal Programme;
16. Extend and consolidate a range of new technologies designed to manage the deployment of NIAS resources in line with patient needs;
17. Clarify the information requirements of key stakeholders and extend the management information framework to accommodate;
Our Trust Delivery Plan outlines are priorities:
Strategic Plans
The Trust's Strategic Plan draws on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) Corporate Plan 2004-6 and in particular the Minister's Priorities identified within it:
- Reduction in preventable deaths and diseases and improvements in well being;
- Improvements in the quality of health and social care provided;
- More responsive hospital services;
- An accessible and effective Primary Care Service;
- Better support for those who need it in the community;
- Better life chances for children;
- Safeguarded rights and interests of children.
The key themes arising from these priorities are as follows:
- Improve access to services;
- Reform, modernize and improve services;
- Promote effective integrated working;
- Deliver value for money by improving efficiency and performance;
- Improve the quality of services;
- Harness new technology to improve citizen's access to information.
The NIAS Strategic Plan communicates to all stakeholders and the community an improved, desirable and achievable future for NIAS.
Our strategic plan outlines where we want to be
Performance against Targets
Details of our performance against national response time targets can be found on the latest response times page.
Information is also contained in the Trust board papers - Performance Information area.
Training Plan
The Regional Ambulance Training Centre's (RATC) training plan for 2007 -2009 sets out the priorities for the clinical and non-clinical training, education and development of all staff within the
Trust. The plan takes account of the strategic objectives of the Trust, and supports the delivery of priorities as set out in Priorities for Action and the Trust Delivery Plan. The plan has been
developed in light of new pressures in terms of changes in service provision and delivery that are as a result of organisational reform within NIAS and developments in the wider HPSS. It identifies
the need for increasing the current manpower levels, maintaining a safe skill mix and improving the skills and competencies of ambulance professionals to meet the challenges of the future.
Governance
NIAS is committed to the delivery of clinical care to the highest standards in accordance with current best practice. NIAS Trust Board exercises strategic control over the operation of the
organisation through a system of corporate governance which includes:
- A schedule of matters reserved for Board decisions;
- A scheme of delegation, which delegates decision making authority within set parameters to the Chief executive and other officers;
- Standing orders and standing financial instructions;
- The establishment of an Audit Committee.
NIAS has introduced key clinical developments during the year which improve and increase the range of treatments and drug therapy available to our patients and as a result
the quality of care provided. Chief among these was the expansion of Paramedic delivered thrombolysis to the WHSSB area and to paramedic RRV likely to respond there although
not based in the WHSSB area. This brings NIAS closer to the routine provision of paramedic delivered thrombolysis for the whole of Northern Ireland. Plans are being developed
to further embed thrombolysis in the west and expand the provision to the rest of Northern Ireland as soon as practicable.
In response to a significant clinical risk identified with pharmacy provision to front-line ambulance personnel emanating from out-dated and geographically disperse pharmacy
supply arrangements, NIAS sought and secured from commissioners the financial support necessary to revise arrangements. Work is progressing to introduce a centralised pharmacy
system consistent throughout Northern Ireland to remove risk, support best practice and facilitate clinical developments such as the introduction of alternative and improved drug
therapies. Provision of an effective ambulance response on a regional level to the exacting standards required presents a challenge which must be underpinned by investment in the
infrastructure to deliver the service safely and effectively.
Other significant issues identified to the Clinical Governance Committee and addressed during the year included;
- The review and introduction of revisions to the Child Protection Policy;
- Review of Infection Control Procedures and continuing work to enhance;
- Paramedic Registration.
The Clinical Audit Department has provided feedback to individual Paramedics on interventions and treatments recorded against patients, thereby enabling individual assessment
of clinical practice within the context of continuing professional development. A range of audits have been undertaken to assess clinical practice and inform clinical
developments.
Control Assurance Standards
In common with other HPSS organisations, NIAS participates in a programme of assessment against Controls Assurance standards. Performance against the standards is measured on
an annual basis by a combination of self-assessment and selective review by Internal Audit, reporting performance to trust board and externally to DHSSPS.
Performance for 2007/08 is summarised in the table attached, and on the whole has been commendable while recognising that there are areas which require further attention for
which action plans have been developed to address the issues identified.
Further information can be found here
Targets, Aims and Objectives
The Trust has performance targets and Ministerial priorities for action to meet throughout the year and which are contained in annual reports, Trust Delivery Plans and
Strategic documentation.
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