Ambulance staff plea to health chiefs (From Worcester News)

Ambulance staff plea to health chiefs

3:30pm Tuesday 31st July 2007 in

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STAFF at Worcester's under-threat ambulance control centre have called on health chiefs to retract its claim that the centre is unfit for purpose, following efforts during the recent floods.

Many call-takers at the Bransford Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) volunteered to work off-duty on Friday, July 20 when severe floods hit the county. Some even worked a 24 hour shift, and others slept at the centre overnight to ensure they were at work for their shift the following day.

Now the staff want health bosses to recognise their efforts by withdrawing its statement that the call centre is not fit for purpose.

Staff spokesman Liz Kabani said: "The trust management have congratulated managers and staff at Hereford and Worcester locality on how well they dealt with the flood situation. That's appreciated. Even better would be a retraction of the "unfit for purpose" comment and a statement made in its place that Hereford and Worcester EOC is indeed, fit for purpose.

"Bring to Bransford the new technology this trust wishes to install, and make Hereford and Worcester EOC the robust, resilient EOC the trust claim to be aspiring to create."

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is currently consulting on plans to close the Bransford call centre, along with one at Shrewsbury, and create two regional centres at Brierley Hill and Stafford. There would also be a support centre at Leamington Spa. Almost 1,500 people have signed the Worcester News' petition against the plans.

Trust spokesman Murray Macgregor said: "The staff at Bransford did an incredible job during the floods. No-one could deny that. However, this reconfiguration plan would lead to a far more resilient service across the West Midlands. The response to the flooding was an entire trust response, with ambulances from Birmingham and Black country helping in Hereford and Worcester and Warwickshire, that it what this reconfiguration plan aims to improve. It was an entire team effort and staff across all areas worked of duty and long hours."

However, Mr Macgregor added the Brierley Hill call centre was one of the most modern, and up-to-date in the country, but said the Bransford centre was not.

Mrs Kabani had claimed at the computer systems at Brierley Hill had failed on the Friday of the floods and said staff had had to work on paper.

Mr Macgregor admitted that the system was down and staff did work on paper for 20 minutes, but said this was a decision taken as part of the on-going improvements being made at the centre, and was not weather related.

He added: "The centre at Brierley Hill is on a hill and is far less likely to be affected by flooding than Bransford. Plus if staff cannot get to Bransford, it significantly limits the number of staff on duty. This would be far less of an issue at Brierley Hill where there would be far more staff anyway."