Inquiry as patient dies waiting for ambulance
8:00pm Wednesday 31st October 2007
Comments (7)Health bosses have launched an investigation into the death of a person waiting for an ambulance.
Ambulance staff have told the Gazette that there was a delay in sending an ambulance to the person in Amesbury due to problems with a newly-introduced computer system at ambulance control in Devizes.
Staff said there was an ambulance crew available at Amesbury but the control room operatorsdid not know that as their computer system showed the crew was with another patient.
The Gazette understands the Amesbury crew had contacted the Devizes control room via their onboard computer system to tell them they had completed a job and were available but the message did not get to the control room.
The new system was introduced on October 16 by bosses at the Great Western Ambulance Service at the same time as they switched the answering of 999 calls from Devizes to ambulance control in Bristol.
The Gazette has been contacted by angry paramedics and a control room operator about the change.
They said the information coming to ambulance controllers in Devizes from Bristol is not detailed enough, leading to delays in dispatching ambulances.
An ambulance controller who works at Wiltshire's control centre said: "The majority of the addresses that we get from the Avon control centre are wrong.
"We had a call to Queen's Drive in Swindon which is one of the longest roads in Swindon and the control at Avon said they didn't have a Queens Drive in Swindon on their system, yet there is an ambulance station in Queens Drive.
"We are having to phone callers back a few times a day to check addresses before we can send an ambulance.
"The previous computer system we had, called Storm, was the most up to date system in the country. Every address was entered on to the database and all the data was supposed to go on to Avon's system but it has not."
Union representatives are meeting management tomorrow to discuss concerns.A spokesman for the Great Western Ambulance Service said an investigation into an incident in Amesbury has begun.
This week an ambulance worker wrote to the Gazette detailing their frustrations. Read their letter below
Your Say YourThis Is Wiltshire
Don, Devizes says...
9:19am Thu 1 Nov 07
who dat? wrote:"Lie-bore". Ho ho ho! Well, the legacy of Swift, Pope et al is safe in your hands. There are huge problems around. Labour has made record investment - whether that has been channelled and used correctly is a different matter. And you're probably right on point 2. It's unlikely to be the fault of the local NHS Management - how can you blame people who are so inept and are known to be inept?
Rest assured that the first two conclusions will be: 1:The Lie-bore government has made record investments in the NHS. However, this incident is not the fault of the government, it is down to local management. 2: This is not the fault of local NHS management.
There are other concerns about our ambulance service as well. Most stations have lost a vehicle and there is serious consideration being given to making each crew one paramedic and one assistant rather than two paramedics.
But, hey, it's easier to go for knee-jerk responses rather than offering alternatives, isn't it? Or should we just all vote "Selfservative"?
Anon emouse, Around and about says...
12:28pm Thu 1 Nov 07
At least the Police stood their ground and prevented a big merger, shame the other services dont have the balls to stand their ground.
Lets see how many fatalities it takes before someone takes notice that saving money or grouping things together in one place is not the best solution.
If something is working dont try and fix it.
Anon emouse, Around and about says...
12:29pm Thu 1 Nov 07
At least the Police stood their ground and prevented a big merger, shame the other services dont have the balls to stand their ground.
Lets see how many fatalities it takes before someone takes notice that saving money or grouping things together in one place is not the best solution.
If something is working dont try and fix it.
who dat?, says...
8:09pm Thu 1 Nov 07
"But, hey, it's easier to go for knee-jerk responses rather than offering alternatives, isn't it? Or should we just all vote "Selfservative"?"
Unfortunately I can offer no alternative.
I feel desperately sorry for the front line - whether it be ambulance service, medical staff , postal workers, armed forces ,police force etc.
A combination of pathetic government, European say-so and general apathy will ensure that this once-great nation heads rapidly down the drain.
Big Mac, says...
9:54am Fri 2 Nov 07
Labour has made record investment - whether that has been channelled and used correctly is a different matter.
You're right. Labour has stolen more and more of our money to pour into the NHS.
The money, very clearly, hasn't been channelled or used correctly.
It has, in reality, been spent on keeping 1.3 MILLION people employed, so as to keep the UK's employment rate artificially low, whilst we've seen health care itself slowly get even worse than it's ever been.
The NHS is now merely a failed experiment that no government can ever admit to. But who care, we have no choice but to fund it.
Don, Devizes says...
8:38pm Fri 2 Nov 07
'Stolen' is an emotive term. And what's so bad about keeping 1.3m employed? They're working for a living and paying taxes. Otherwise they'd be on benefits - like many former miners.
I'd prefer to see tax rates raised and the NHS sorted out properly. I would imagine that you would disagree.
Don
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who dat?, says...
8:45pm Wed 31 Oct 07
1:The Lie-bore government has made record investments in the NHS. However, this incident is not the fault of the government, it is down to local management.
2: This is not the fault of local NHS management.