By Journal Staff
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) National Health Service (NHS) Trust received a second reaccreditation (2012–2015) at UK NAVIGATOR 2012 in Bristol.
EMAS, which was presented with its first ACE in 2006, provides emergency 9-9-9 and urgent care services to 4.8 million people within the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire regions of the U.K. (approximately 6,425 square miles). The 3,200-member staff is divided among 70 locations, including two control centers, and responds to more than 670,000 emergency calls per year.
EMAS uses the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS) Protocol and, like all NHS Trust ambulance services, must respond to 75% of emergency calls classified RED within 8 minutes. These calls can include patients experiencing cardiac arrest or severe breathing difficulties.
Quality assurance
A set of Clinical Quality Indicators makes it possible for EMAS to identify areas of good practice and areas needing improvement. Green calls mean that patients get the right treatment at the right time. If the patient’s condition is life threatening or serious, the patient receives an ambulance response and a face-to-face assessment. If the condition is non-life threatening, a skilled clinician conducts a telephone assessment and directs the patient to the right care (this could be to visit his or her GP, a minor injury unit, call NHS Direct, or a non-emergency ambulance will be sent to assess the patient face-to-face).
EMAS NHS Trust members attending the re-ACE award presentation included Deputy Director of Operations Paul St Clair; Assistant Medical Director Steven Dykes, M.D.; Audit & Training Manager Hilary Yates; and QA/QI team members Sheridan Halton and Jonathan Pearson.
