NIAS Proposals for Service Reconfiguration Presented to
Minister
The Board of the Northern
Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has approved proposals to reconfigure the
provision of ambulance services in Northern Ireland.
Investment gained under
the Comprehensive Spending Review will be used to further improve the
service for the benefit of the community we serve.
Like all Health Trusts in
Northern Ireland, there has been a legislative requirement on NIAS to make
3% efficiency savings per year (in the period 2008-11) and NIAS has
identified the areas in which these can be realised. The CSR investment has
enabled NIAS to provide additional Paramedic cover throughout Northern
Ireland.
NIAS has been facing an
increased year on year demand for its emergency services, answering 113,000
emergency calls in 2008/09 alone. Over 40,000 of these were classified as
potentially immediately life threatening. In such cases it is of the utmost
importance to get paramedic assistance to the scene as quickly as possible.
“Every second counts” is
not just a phrase that is used for effect – it is meant. Research by the
European Resuscitation Council indicates that in cases of cardiac arrest
(heart attack), a victims chances of survival decrease with every passing
minute. Early CPR and early defibrillation are key to survival.
The provision of the
highest quality of care is a primary concern for NIAS. We aim, in every
case, to get to those calls as quickly as possible and believe that the
introduction of more Rapid Response Vehicles, in towns and cities, will
improve our response and, ultimately, the patients chances of survival.
Rapid Response Vehicles
are cars that are staffed by single, highly trained and motivated ambulance
paramedics. These cars carry all the equipment needed to treat the most
seriously ill patients and since NIAS introduced them in 2002 they, when
dispatched at the same time as the traditional A&E vehicle have arrived
first at the scene 87% of the time.
The paramedics are then
able to commence treatment and in some cases have the patient ready earlier
for transportation to hospital. When the ambulance crew has left the scene
with the patient the Rapid Response Paramedic is immediately available for
the next call.
In those life threatening calls to
which a Rapid Response Vehicle is sent, a traditional A&E vehicle will
continue to be sent at the same time.
To ease the pressure on
the fleet and increase the availability of A&E vehicles to transport
the most seriously ill or injured,
NIAS is looking at ways to reduce the inappropriate use of the ambulance
service. In Northern Ireland we carry, to hospital, a higher percentage of
the patients we attend than in the rest of the UK.
More patients may be treated and left at home when appropriate;
others may be referred to a service more suitable than the A&E department of
the local hospital.
NIAS recognises the
challenges that have been set and remains committed to the reform,
modernisation and improvement of the Service. The changes proposed will be
carefully monitored to ensure that they are to the benefit of the patient
and are the best use of resources we have.
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