Month: February 2019

Monday 25^th February 2019 – 4.40pm – Murray MacGregor.

A cyclist has died after a road traffic collision involving a lorry.

It happened on Newtown Road in Bedworth, Warwickshire at about 1.40pm on Monday afternoon.

An ambulance arrived just five minutes after the 999 call and was backed up by a paramedic officer.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Sadly, it quickly became apparent that nothing could be done to save the man and he was confirmed dead at the scene.

“The lorry driver and a woman pedestrian who was at the scene were assessed but both were discharged.”

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Thursday 21st February 2019 – 10.00am – Claire Brown.

A motorcyclist received advanced trauma care by ambulance staff following a road traffic collision in Dudley last night.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to reports of a collision involving a car and a motorcyclist on Stourbridge Road, Dudley at around 10.20pm (Wednesday). Three ambulances, a paramedic officer and a MERIT trauma doctor attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Crews arrived to find a motorcyclist and a car which had been involved in a collision. The motorcyclist, a man, sustained multiple serious injuries and required advanced trauma care on scene by ambulance staff before being taken by ambulance on blue lights to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for further trauma care.

“A young child from the car was also assessed by ambulance staff before being taken to Russells Hall Hospital for further checks.”

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Tuesday 19^th February 2019 – 10.00am – Claire Brown.

Three people received trauma care from ambulance staff after their car collided with a tree in the early hours of this morning in Shropshire.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Newcastle Road near Madeley, Shropshire shortly after 2.00am today (Tuesday). Three ambulances, a paramedic officer, a MERIT trauma doctor and a BASICS emergency doctor attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Crews arrived to find a car, with three occupants inside, which had collided with a tree. Ambulance staff worked closely with fire service colleagues at the scene. One man sustained serious injuries and was given advanced trauma care by ambulance staff and medics before being taken by land ambulance on blue lights to Royal Stoke University Hospital. A second man also sustained serious injuries and a third patient had less serious injuries. Both were taken to the same hospital for further treatment.”

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Tuesday 19^th February 2019 – 08.00am – Murray MacGregor.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has welcomed a challenge from NHS England Chief Executive, Simon Stevens to vehicle manufacturers to help “blue lights go green”.

Mr Stevens wants the manufacturers to develop more environmentally friendly ambulances, which will cut air pollution.  The NHS accounts for almost 10 billion journeys each year – around 3.5% of all road travel in the UK – as staff and patients travel to work and appointments and medical supplies are delivered.

WMAS Fleet General Manager, Tony Page, said: “As a Trust we have the most modern ambulance fleet in the country and have made significant changes to our fleet that has substantially reduced the level of pollution we create over the past six years

“We use van conversions which are almost a tonne lighter than the modular vehicles used by other services which immediately produces savings in fuel and operating costs.

“We have worked closely with staff and the converters to improve the designs so they are easier to operate in and have then invested significantly in producing vehicles that are considerably lighter which has reduced our CO2 emissions.

“Had we not made the changes we would have created an additional 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year!

“We made a commitment to our staff five years ago that none of our frontline vehicles would be older than five years.  As well as meaning they are a better place to work, it has allowed us to make many other improvements including:

• Using new technology pioneered in the aircraft industry to reduce the weight of the ambulances by almost 10%. This brings real savings in fuel, tyres and vehicle spares as well improving the vehicles handling and ride quality
• A newer fleet substantially increases the availability of vehicles and reduces the level of spares required which has saved hundreds of thousands of pounds.
• Although the number of incidents has risen by 28% over the last six years, we have only increased our fleet size by 7% due to better availability of vehicles

“Our objectives for the next few years will be to implement the issues highlighted in the NHS Improvement Carter Report which will focus on further weight reductions from vehicle conversion, exploiting telematics, making further improvements to the saloons of the ambulances which will further improve the working environment for crews and make the patient experience better.  If the vehicle manufacturers can play their part too, we can continue to make a real difference to the environment.”

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Friday 15^th February 2019 – 4.15pm – Jamie Arrowsmith.

A man has been treated for multiple injuries and taken to hospital following a single vehicle road traffic collision on the motorway this afternoon in which a car overturned.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the northbound carriageway of the M42, between junctions 9 and 10, in Curdworth, at 1.40pm and sent two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Staffordshire to the scene. A private ambulance crew also stopped at the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews found the driver of the car, a man, partially ejected from his vehicle, which had come to rest on its roof.

“The man was treated for multiple injuries, not believed to be life-threatening, by ambulance staff before being taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire by land ambulance.

“Nobody else was injured in the incident.”

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Thursday 14^th February 2019 – 10.40am – Jamie Arrowsmith.

A road traffic collision involving a car and pedestrians has resulted in six patients this morning, four of whom who have been taken to hospital after receiving treatment from ambulance staff at the scene.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Springhill Road, Burntwood at 8.36am and sent three ambulances and two paramedic officers to the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews discovered multiple patients at the scene.

“Ambulance staff were told by bystanders that the driver of the car, a woman, had suffered a medical episode prior to the collision. Following treatment at the scene she was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital for further assessment.

“A girl, who was a passenger in the car, had been taken into a nearby school. Crews assessed her there but thankfully she had not been injured in the incident and was discharged at the scene.

“There were four pedestrians injured in the incident. A woman, a boy and a girl were all treated for injuries not believed to be serious and were transported to Walsall Manor Hospital as a precaution. A second woman was discharged at the scene having suffered minor injuries.”

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Notes to Editors:

We do not know the ages of the patients involved.

Monday 11^th February 2019 – 11.20am – Murray MacGregor.

A motorcycle rider has suffered serious injuries and a car driver has been hurt after a crash in Stoke this morning.

It happened on Bucknall Road at around 6.30am this morning, Monday.

Four ambulances, two BASICS emergency doctors and a paramedic officer were sent to the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, ambulance staff found a car that had suffered significant damage to the driver’s door and a badly damaged motorcycle.

“The man riding the motorcycle had suffered serious injuries.  He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff and the doctors before being taken on blue lights to the major trauma centre at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

“Firefighters removed the car door so that ambulance staff could help the woman driving out of the vehicle.

“She was treated at the scene for less serious injuries before being taken to the same hospital.”

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Friday 8^th February 2019 – 8am – Jamie Arrowsmith.

A child has been seriously injured following a collision with a bus yesterday (Thursday).

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Stoney Stanton Road in Coventry at 6.16pm and sent two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance Critical Care Car to the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Crews arrived to find a girl who was seriously injured following a collision with a bus.

“She received treatment at the scene, including specialist trauma care, before being transported to Birmingham Children’s Hospital in a serious condition.

“Nobody else was injured in the incident.”

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Tuesday 5^th February 2019 – 4.00pm – Claire Brown.

A man and a woman have received treatment by ambulance staff after the car they were travelling in overturned on the M6 in Rugby this afternoon.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the northbound carriageway of the M6, just before junction one, in Newton, Rugby, at around 1.50pm (Tuesday). Two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance with a doctor on board attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Ambulance crews arrived to find an overturned car which had left the carriageway of the M6 and collided with a concrete post. The team of ambulance staff worked closely with fire service colleagues to carefully extricate the two occupants, a man and a woman, who were trapped.

“The man suffered serious injuries and received advanced trauma care from the doctor and ambulance team on scene. He was taken by land ambulance on blue lights to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire for further emergency treatment; the doctor travelled with the patient.

“The woman, who also sustained injuries, was given treatment on scene by the ambulance service before she was taken to the same hospital by land ambulance.”

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Tuesday 5^th February 2019 – 2.00pm – Claire Brown.

Nathan Hudson, Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer from West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “After receiving a 999 call this morning from the fire service at 2.40am, the Trust’s control room quickly responded three double crewed ambulances, two paramedic officers, two doctors and the Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene of the fire.

“Two adults and a child were already out of the property when crews arrived. They each received treatment by the ambulance staff for non-life-threatening injuries before being taken to the major trauma centre in Stoke. Tragically, four children were confirmed deceased a short time after by our staff.

“This was an immensely difficult incident for all three services to respond to and my thanks go to my staff and all emergency personnel on scene.

“My thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone at West Midlands Ambulance Service, remain with the family and friends at this difficult time.”

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Tuesday 5^th February 2019 – 8.20am – Claire Brown.

Four children have tragically died in a house fire in Stafford in the early hours of this morning.

West Midlands Ambulance Service received a 999 call from the fire service at 2.40am this morning (Tuesday) to reports of a house fire in Sycamore Lane, Stafford. Two paramedic officers, three ambulances, the Trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team, the MERIT trauma team and a BASICS emergency doctor attended the scene along with police and fire colleagues.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When crews arrived they found an ongoing serious house fire. Three occupants, two adults and a child, had managed to get out of the property. All three patients were assessed and treated on scene by ambulance staff for non-life-threatening injuries before being taken to hospital for further care.

“Tragically, four children from the property were confirmed dead on scene.

“Our thoughts are with the family at this exceptionally difficult time.”

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A new non-emergency ambulance contract for Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral, will see additional staff based locally providing ever higher standards of care.

NHS commissioners have awarded a five-year contract to West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS). The service will provide around 180,000 journeys a year, taking eligible patients from their homes to hospitals and treatment centres for consultations, treatments and procedures including services relating to cancer, renal failure and bariatric surgery. The contract will start from 6 April 2019.

WMAS will use an additional 30 vehicles to the previous contract, most of which are wheelchair accessible. This will allow patients to stay in their chair while they are helped into the vehicle at the start of their journey and out at the end making their journey easier.

The number of operating bases will increase from three to five, with sites in Macclesfield and on the Wirral complementing those in Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Warrington. Therefore, staff will not have to travel as far to work and will be able to operate more regularly in areas with which they are familiar.

The new contract will allow WMAS to recruit around 40 additional staff.  They, together with the existing staff, will use additional equipment bought to enhance care in various specialties including bariatrics – the branch of medicine that deals with obesity.

Dr Julia Huddart, clinical lead for urgent and emergency care at NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – one of the commissioners, said: “We and our partners recognised that this is an essential service for eligible patients. For that reason, we required potential providers to bid against a robust operating model that would ensure a high-quality, reliable and accessible service.

“The service specification was shaped by users of the existing service, with whom we worked closely throughout the tendering process.”

Michelle Brotherton, WMAS non-emergency services operational delivery director, said: “Putting patient care first has always been our number one priority and we feel this new contract will allow us to provide the level of patient care we feel is appropriate. Our bid was the perfect balance of value for money and quality.”

Unison staff side chair Stuart Gardner and GMB organiser Michael Buoey said: “All trade unions are pleased that WMAS has retained the contract, and we look forward to continuing our work together on behalf of our members, staff and patients in Cheshire and the Wirral.”

The contract was awarded by NHS Wirral CCG for itself and on behalf of NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, NHS South Cheshire CCG, NHS Vale Royal CCG, NHS Warrington CCG, NHS West Cheshire CCG and NHS Wirral CCG.

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