A CAMPAIGN to save Worcester's under-threat ambulance control centre is being backed by two of the county's Parliamentary candidates.
Liberal Democrat Richard Burt and Conservative Harriett Baldwin, Parliamentary candidates for West Worcestershire, have both added their names to the Worcester News petition to save the Bransford centre. So far more than 1,600 people have signed the petition.
Both candidates have visited the Emergency Operations Centre recently to offer their help and support to staff.
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"We have nine weeks to save our local ambulance call centre and prevent what would amount to a real and detrimental cut to the emergency care of local people," said Mr Burt.
"As someone who worked in an emergency services cover, I can appreciate the importance of keeping a dedicated local team with local knowledge for Worcestershire and Herefordshire."
Mrs Baldwin said: "I was told that local knowledge would be preserved by having a Hereford and Worcester sub-team in Brierley Hill. This is contradictory and unsustainable. Clearly, those local skills are likely to be lost over time as Hereford and Worcester-based staff will face a much longer commute to the other centres, and gradually the staff will be recruited elsewhere."
West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust wants to close the Bransford 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.
It insists the move will create a more resilient service for patients and said local knowledge would be maintained. The trust has also urged people to read the consultation document before making a decision.
Trust chief executive Anthony Marsh said: "We would ask people to read the document and then make up their minds about
what is contained within it and not be misled by scaremongering comments about lives being put in danger. This trust will not do anything that will put patients' lives at risk - we are in the business of saving lives."
The trust says that by increasing the number of centres under the new technology being introduced at the regional control centres, it would lead to a less resilient service.
To sign the Worcester News petition complete the onlinepetition.
Posted by: liz kabani, h + w on 10:19am Sat 11 Aug 07
All of us at Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control have been asking for people to read the document since day one of the public consultation period.
There have been no scaremongering comments. There has however, been deep concern voiced by members of the public, MPS and prospective candidates representing the three main political parties. The WMAS Trust Board is discovering day by day, that whilst you can fool some of the people some of the time, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. The counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire will receive an inferior 999 response than the one they previously had if the proposal to close the local ambulance control is allowed to go ahead. Urgent but not emergency details will also be compromised as ambulance crews are drawn into the Birmingham Black Country area. Ambulances travel several times a day from Hereford, Worcester and Redditch to the Queen Elizabeth, Selly Oak, Solihull, Birmingham Maternity, Birmingham Childrens, Birmingham Heartlands, as well as New Cross and Walsgrave hospitals. When these ambulances are used on the next 999 call in the Birmingham area, our locality is obviously deprived of that emergency cover. This is not scaremongering, but it certainly is scary. Several ambulances are often out of area at any one time. The population of Herefordshire and Worcestershire will be paying its taxes to fund better emergency cover in Birmingham Black Country area. The proposal to close our local ambulance control will put at unnecessary risk, patients’ health and possibly even lives. Not scaremongering, still scary. What this Trust is in the business of, is of attaining targets including financial targets. See this Trust Board in action at Hereford Town Hall Thursday 16th August 6.30pm. Representatives from Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control will be also be there.
All of us at Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control have been asking for people to read the document since day one of the public consultation period.
There have been no scaremongering comments. There has however, been deep concern voiced by members of the public, MPS and prospective candidates representing the three main political parties. The WMAS Trust Board is discovering day by day, that whilst you can fool some of the people some of the time, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. The counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire will receive an inferior 999 response than the one they previously had if the proposal to close the local ambulance control is allowed to go ahead. Urgent but not emergency details will also be compromised as ambulance crews are drawn into the Birmingham Black Country area. Ambulances travel several times a day from Hereford, Worcester and Redditch to the Queen Elizabeth, Selly Oak, Solihull, Birmingham Maternity, Birmingham Childrens, Birmingham Heartlands, as well as New Cross and Walsgrave hospitals. When these ambulances are used on the next 999 call in the Birmingham area, our locality is obviously deprived of that emergency cover. This is not scaremongering, but it certainly is scary. Several ambulances are often out of area at any one time. The population of Herefordshire and Worcestershire will be paying its taxes to fund better emergency cover in Birmingham Black Country area. The proposal to close our local ambulance control will put at unnecessary risk, patients’ health and possibly even lives. Not scaremongering, still scary. What this Trust is in the business of, is of attaining targets including financial targets. See this Trust Board in action at Hereford Town Hall Thursday 16th August 6.30pm. Representatives from Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control will be also be there.
I imagine it`s the same sort of idea we had with policing.What few resources we have will be sucked into trying to sort out the mess in our large neighbour Birmingham.
I imagine it`s the same sort of idea we had with policing.What few resources we have will be sucked into trying to sort out the mess in our large neighbour Birmingham.
Posted by: bransford004, bransford on 12:05pm Sat 11 Aug 07
Local knowledge is not just about finding our way to incidents and using other agencies to get information is one way. Our staff know who to call when the need arises. Take this for instance. During recent events the flooding would have caused people without local knowledge to have attempted to deploy resources to emergencies by routes crews would have found impassable. A situation like this requires dynamic deployment of crews in order to be able to access virtually closed off areas in a reasonable time.
Who do the police, fire and midwives call when they need help finding locations? Yes you’ve guessed it. Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control.
Local knowledge is not just about finding our way to incidents and using other agencies to get information is one way. Our staff know who to call when the need arises. Take this for instance. During recent events the flooding would have caused people without local knowledge to have attempted to deploy resources to emergencies by routes crews would have found impassable. A situation like this requires dynamic deployment of crews in order to be able to access virtually closed off areas in a reasonable time.
Who do the police, fire and midwives call when they need help finding locations? Yes you’ve guessed it. Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Control.
We should all whole heartedly agree with the comments above. At the Worcester public consultation meeting on Wednesday, Mr Marsh, CEO, stated that all resources will be 'pooled'. This means that when a vehicle comes clear of an incident, it could be the next viable resource available to respond to the next 999 call. This could mean that resdidents in Kidderminster find that their local crew are on an emergency in Stourbridge or Halesowen when they dial 999. In the Hereford Times recently, West Midlands Ambulance Service commented on the fact that Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire were now one locality. They also stated that these rural counties differ in the in the type of emergency cover needed compared to urban areas and cities. It was said that rural communities have special needs that must be catered for. Why then, you should ask, are the controls in these very counties being closed?
Mr Marsh claims that his motives are not financial. However, every obstacle put in the way for updating/saving Hereford and Worcester EOC is monetary. Staff at Bransford welcome change and initiatives that bring about the best patient care. The decision to close Bransford has nothing to do with patient care and will only serve to make rural areas receive an inferior service. Government figures will still look good though - red calls in city areas will be hit making the percentage high. The red calls missed in rural areas will not affect figures -only patients!
We should all whole heartedly agree with the comments above. At the Worcester public consultation meeting on Wednesday, Mr Marsh, CEO, stated that all resources will be 'pooled'. This means that when a vehicle comes clear of an incident, it could be the next viable resource available to respond to the next 999 call. This could mean that resdidents in Kidderminster find that their local crew are on an emergency in Stourbridge or Halesowen when they dial 999. In the Hereford Times recently, West Midlands Ambulance Service commented on the fact that Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire were now one locality. They also stated that these rural counties differ in the in the type of emergency cover needed compared to urban areas and cities. It was said that rural communities have special needs that must be catered for. Why then, you should ask, are the controls in these very counties being closed?
Mr Marsh claims that his motives are not financial. However, every obstacle put in the way for updating/saving Hereford and Worcester EOC is monetary. Staff at Bransford welcome change and initiatives that bring about the best patient care. The decision to close Bransford has nothing to do with patient care and will only serve to make rural areas receive an inferior service. Government figures will still look good though - red calls in city areas will be hit making the percentage high. The red calls missed in rural areas will not affect figures -only patients!
This is just one more example of our politicians saving money so it can be spent on projects like wars,propping up "friendly" dictators and the HUGE cost of rebuilding Central and Eastern Europe.... and the Middle East.
None of our so called political parties will have the courage or inegrity to admit how much this costs us or dare point out why all this financial cheeseparing or "necessary reform" or "streamlining" or "efficiency saving" has to happen......or tell us the truth about the billions squandered on mad purchases of American private enterprise "consultant"s who charge us a fortune to state the b. obvious and introduce ruinously expensive IT scemes that don`t work!!!
Read it all in Private Eye and then ask yourself what is going on in politics and the mainstream media when nothing effective is said or done about these scandals?
This is just one more example of our politicians saving money so it can be spent on projects like wars,propping up "friendly" dictators and the HUGE cost of rebuilding Central and Eastern Europe.... and the Middle East.
None of our so called political parties will have the courage or inegrity to admit how much this costs us or dare point out why all this financial cheeseparing or "necessary reform" or "streamlining" or "efficiency saving" has to happen......or tell us the truth about the billions squandered on mad purchases of American private enterprise "consultant"s who charge us a fortune to state the b. obvious and introduce ruinously expensive IT scemes that don`t work!!!
Read it all in Private Eye and then ask yourself what is going on in politics and the mainstream media when nothing effective is said or done about these scandals?
Posted by: bransford007, worcester on 12:18pm Sun 12 Aug 07
Ms Baldwin is correct;preserving and maintaining local knowledge will be extremely difficult. Retaining the current level of staff will prove challenging for WMAS- these staff have many, many years of experience with the ambulance service (some over 25 years) and during this time they have developed a full and comprenhensive level of local knowledge of our 2 counties. Over time, if the proposal goes ahead, this local knowledge will be lost as the task for some staff, of spending well over two hours commuting followed by a 12 hour shift, takes its toll on them and they eventually leave. It would be unlikely that WMAS would be able to again recruit from YOUR local area. Other agencies, as previously mentioned, do rely on Hereford and Worcester EOC for directions - for exmaple alternative routes to a rural location for a homebirth during the recent flooding. H&W EOC is a local source of knowledge that should be applauded -not closed!
Ms Baldwin is correct;preserving and maintaining local knowledge will be extremely difficult. Retaining the current level of staff will prove challenging for WMAS- these staff have many, many years of experience with the ambulance service (some over 25 years) and during this time they have developed a full and comprenhensive level of local knowledge of our 2 counties. Over time, if the proposal goes ahead, this local knowledge will be lost as the task for some staff, of spending well over two hours commuting followed by a 12 hour shift, takes its toll on them and they eventually leave. It would be unlikely that WMAS would be able to again recruit from YOUR local area. Other agencies, as previously mentioned, do rely on Hereford and Worcester EOC for directions - for exmaple alternative routes to a rural location for a homebirth during the recent flooding. H&W EOC is a local source of knowledge that should be applauded -not closed!
Posted by: Beepey, Malvern on 3:07pm Sun 12 Aug 07
Mr Marsh and his Board have been well and truly caught out. They obviously expected their proposals to be swept through on a tide of apathy with little or no opposition.
The Board claims to welcome comment and debate, yet when faced with the same, and unable to offer reasoned argument, he makes accusations of scaremongering. Comments from the Board and the press office are dismissive, condescending and at times just plain rude. The proposals are ill conceived and lack substance. There is such a lack of attention to detail in their correspondence that you are left to surmise that the same lack of attention to detail has been applied to their proposals.
Hereford and Worcester control is on trial, the prosecution, jury, judge and executioner are all one and the same, the WMAS Trust Board. That sound more like a lynch mob as far as I can see.
If, as the Trust repeatedly tell us, increasing the number of centres under the new technology being introduced at the regional control centres leads to a less resilient service, then quite simply you are looking at the wrong technology. What use is technology that is likely to fail when demands are made of it? Unless of course, this is yet another dubious claim.
Mr Marsh and his Board have been well and truly caught out. They obviously expected their proposals to be swept through on a tide of apathy with little or no opposition.
The Board claims to welcome comment and debate, yet when faced with the same, and unable to offer reasoned argument, he makes accusations of scaremongering. Comments from the Board and the press office are dismissive, condescending and at times just plain rude. The proposals are ill conceived and lack substance. There is such a lack of attention to detail in their correspondence that you are left to surmise that the same lack of attention to detail has been applied to their proposals.
Hereford and Worcester control is on trial, the prosecution, jury, judge and executioner are all one and the same, the WMAS Trust Board. That sound more like a lynch mob as far as I can see.
If, as the Trust repeatedly tell us, increasing the number of centres under the new technology being introduced at the regional control centres leads to a less resilient service, then quite simply you are looking at the wrong technology. What use is technology that is likely to fail when demands are made of it? Unless of course, this is yet another dubious claim.
Posted by: bransford007, worcster on 8:01pm Sun 12 Aug 07
[quote][bold]Beepey[/bold] wrote:
Mr Marsh and his Board have been well and truly caught out. They obviously expected their proposals to be swept through on a tide of apathy with little or no opposition. The Board claims to welcome comment and debate, yet when faced with the same, and unable to offer reasoned argument, he makes accusations of scaremongering. Comments from the Board and the press office are dismissive, condescending and at times just plain rude. The proposals are ill conceived and lack substance. There is such a lack of attention to detail in their correspondence that you are left to surmise that the same lack of attention to detail has been applied to their proposals. Hereford and Worcester control is on trial, the prosecution, jury, judge and executioner are all one and the same, the WMAS Trust Board. That sound more like a lynch mob as far as I can see. If, as the Trust repeatedly tell us, increasing the number of centres under the new technology being introduced at the regional control centres leads to a less resilient service, then quite simply you are looking at the wrong technology. What use is technology that is likely to fail when demands are made of it? Unless of course, this is yet another dubious claim. [/quote] As 'Beepey' correctly points out from WMAS' Public Consultation Document - technology is not always resilient.... Mr MacGreagor Press Officer for WMAS also claims this when it suits him ie as in 'Beepey's' posting. On other occasions we are told by the press Office that technology is all that is needed by the crew to get to an address and that call takers do not need local knowledge. Contradiction again!
Beepey wrote:
Mr Marsh and his Board have been well and truly caught out. They obviously expected their proposals to be swept through on a tide of apathy with little or no opposition. The Board claims to welcome comment and debate, yet when faced with the same, and unable to offer reasoned argument, he makes accusations of scaremongering. Comments from the Board and the press office are dismissive, condescending and at times just plain rude. The proposals are ill conceived and lack substance. There is such a lack of attention to detail in their correspondence that you are left to surmise that the same lack of attention to detail has been applied to their proposals. Hereford and Worcester control is on trial, the prosecution, jury, judge and executioner are all one and the same, the WMAS Trust Board. That sound more like a lynch mob as far as I can see. If, as the Trust repeatedly tell us, increasing the number of centres under the new technology being introduced at the regional control centres leads to a less resilient service, then quite simply you are looking at the wrong technology. What use is technology that is likely to fail when demands are made of it? Unless of course, this is yet another dubious claim.
As 'Beepey' correctly points out from WMAS' Public Consultation Document - technology is not always resilient.... Mr MacGreagor Press Officer for WMAS also claims this when it suits him ie as in 'Beepey's' posting. On other occasions we are told by the press Office that technology is all that is needed by the crew to get to an address and that call takers do not need local knowledge. Contradiction again!
Posted by: bransford007, worcester on 8:08pm Sun 12 Aug 07
As 'Beepey' points out - as stated in WMAS' Public Consultation document; technology is not always resilient.... Mr MacGreagor, WMAS Press Officer, also states this when dicussing how 4 or 5 Emergency Operation Centres would make the technology less resilient. However, the Press office also claim that technology is ALL the crews need to find the location of an emergency and that local knowledge is not needed in a call taker. This comment has also been echoed by the CEO. Contradictions again!
As 'Beepey' points out - as stated in WMAS' Public Consultation document; technology is not always resilient.... Mr MacGreagor, WMAS Press Officer, also states this when dicussing how 4 or 5 Emergency Operation Centres would make the technology less resilient. However, the Press office also claim that technology is ALL the crews need to find the location of an emergency and that local knowledge is not needed in a call taker. This comment has also been echoed by the CEO. Contradictions again!
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