Claire Brown – Saturday 30th November 2019 – 11.00am.
West Midlands Ambulance Service is proud to receive recognition as a ‘Disability Confident Leader’ by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Month: November 2019
Pedestrian fatally injured in RTC
Jamie Arrowsmith – Thursday 28th November 2019 – 3.25pm.
A woman has died following a collision between a lorry and a pedestrian this morning.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Birmingham Road in West Bromwich, near to West Bromwich Albion Football Club, at 11.57am and sent one ambulance and two paramedic officers to the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews discovered a woman, who was a pedestrian, who had suffered serious injuries in collision with a lorry.
“Sadly, it quickly became apparent nothing could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene.
“The lorry driver, a man, was assessed for the effects of shock and discharged at the scene.
“A third patient, a woman who witnessed the incident, was also treated for the effects of shock and discharged at the scene.”
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Pedestrian airlifted following Newport RTC
Claire Brown – Friday 22nd November 2019 – 1.30pm.
A woman has been airlifted to a major trauma centre following a road traffic collision in Shropshire this morning.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to reports of a collision involving a pedestrian and a van at the junction of Stafford Street and High Street in Newport at 11.07am earlier today (Friday). An ambulance, paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford with a MERIT trauma doctor on board attended the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When ambulance crews arrived, they found the pedestrian, a woman, who had been involved in a collision with a van. She was being cared for and reassured by bystanders; an off-duty nurse, doctor and one of our 999 call assessors who came across the incident and stopped to help.
“The woman was assessed by ambulance staff who found she had sustained a potential serious injury. She was given treatment on scene before being airlifted, in a stable condition, to Royal Stoke University Hospital for further assessment and treatment.”
“The van driver was uninjured.”
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Photo: Courtesy of Officialwmas
Man dies in two car RTC
Jordan Eggington – Thursday 21st November 2019 – 8:55am
A man has died in a road traffic collision in Tenbury Wells yesterday afternoon.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to reports of a two car RTC on Worcester Road in Burford near the Tenbury Show Ground at 3:08pm (Wednesday). Two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford attended the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Crews arrived to find a serious RTC involving two cars. One of the drivers, a man, was found in a critical condition. Ambulance staff worked as a team to administer advanced life support, but sadly, despite their best efforts nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene.
“The driver of the second car, a man, was treated on scene for minor injuries before being taken to Hereford General Hospital for further assessment.”
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Note to editors: Photo courtesy of @Helistig
Highly respected NHS leader to take up role as Chair of WMAS
Murray MacGregor – Tuesday 19th November 2019 – 10.00am.
West Midlands Ambulance Service is delighted to announce that it has appointed a highly respected NHS Leader as the new Chair of the Trust.
Professor Ian Cumming OBE will join the Service, the only Ambulance Trust rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC, when he leaves his current role as Chief Executive of Health Education England, the education and training organisation for the NHS, at the end of March 2020. He will also take up a new role as Professor of Global Healthcare Workforce and Strategy at Keele University.
Prof. Cumming said: “After 38 years in the NHS, including 25 years as an NHS Chief Executive, I feel that the time is right to pursue new goals. The opportunity to remain in the NHS while also taking up an academic role is the perfect opportunity for my next career step.
“I have had a personal interest in pre-hospital care from many years and well remember meeting WMAS Chief Executive Anthony Marsh in 2009 to talk about how we could improve care at a time when patients are arguably at their most vulnerable. What is notable is that WMAS has delivered on all of those discussions including developing their staff so that there is a paramedic on every ambulance; having a modern fleet; and the introduction of ‘Make Ready’ hubs to improve efficiency.
“WMAS already has a real focus on keeping the Trust at forefront of developing patient care and I am looking forward to helping them continue that journey. As we move towards more care at home, I want to focus with the team at WMAS on how we can build on the integration of 111, but also increase the care that is provided at a time of need.
“As someone who lives within the West Midlands, I am excited at the prospect of becoming a part of a high performing organisation that is innovative and leads the way in so many areas of development whilst continuing to provide a very high level of service to patients.”
Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive of WMAS said “I am delighted our Governors have appointed Ian to succeed Sir Graham Meldrum as our Chairman. Ian has worked closely with WMAS over the last 11 years both as Chief Executive of NHS West Midlands and then more recently in his role at HEE and brings with him a wealth of knowledge about NHS organisations and the development of the most important part of our organisation – our staff.
“Prof. Cumming has been hugely supportive to WMAS in recent years on projects such as upskilling our workforce so that we became and remain the only ambulance service to have a paramedic on every vehicle.
“He has also been very supportive of our move to become the first University Ambulance Service in the country and in the setting up of the National Ambulance Academy and National Improvement Faculty, all of which champion the development of ambulance services and our staff.
“I would also like to pay tribute to our current Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum, who has played a pivotal role in the Trust’s development for more than a decade. His leadership has brought huge benefits to the organisation, our staff, and the patients we serve. In particular his tireless work in the field of diversity and inclusion has seen us make significant progress in developing our workforce so that it truly represents the West Midlands region.”
Current Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum, added: “I very much welcome the appointment of Ian Cumming by the Council of Governors. The development and wellbeing of staff is clearly something that Ian holds dearly. At a time when the NHS is under more pressure than ever before, having someone who sees such issues as central to the organisation can only be good news.
“It has been an absolute privilege to lead this organisation over nearly 14 years; the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of the staff here is exemplary. I have had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of our staff over that time and each time I do I am left incredibly proud to be in this position.
“I am absolutely confident that Ian will continue the good work of the Board of Directors and Council of Governors to help this organisation maintain it’s position as a leader within ambulance services.”
Lead Governor, Eileen Cox, who was Chair of the appointing panel, said: “We were very impressed by the number, range of experience and backgrounds of the candidates who put themselves forward for the position of Chairman.
“As a Foundation Trust, the Governors played the leading part in the selection process and our panel was made up of both elected and staff Governors.
“In the end, our decision was unanimous. We were very impressed by the range of experience and enthusiasm Prof. Cumming had for this organisation. What came through so strongly was his wish to see staff flourish both professionally, but also personally.
“He was very clear that by looking after our staff, they will look after our patients and that will lead to better care, which at the end of the day is the driving force of everything that we do.”
Professor Cumming will take up his new role with WMAS on 1st April 2020. His appointment is for an initial period of three years.
Professor Ian Cumming Biography
Ian started his career in the NHS as a Biomedical Scientist and later worked as a Research Scientist in coagulation disorders before moving into NHS Leadership in the early 1990’s.
He has held a variety of NHS general management posts including over 11 years as Chief Executive of acute hospital Trusts, followed by three years as the Chief Executive of a healthcare commissioning organisation prior to being appointed Chief Executive of the NHS in the West Midlands in 2009.
In 2012, Ian was appointed Chief Executive of Health Education England (HEE). Ian has a particular interest in the development of leadership skills in clinical staff and is an Honorary Professor of Healthcare Leadership in the Medical School at Lancaster University.
In 2003 Ian was awarded the OBE for services to the NHS and in 2010 Ian was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Ian has a special interest in sports medicine an area in which he hold an MSc. Ian became a board member of Sport England in 2016.
Outside work, Ian is a qualified level 3 swimming coach, working closely with young people to develop their swimming abilities, a keen snow skier and enjoys sailing, walking and watching rugby union.
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Woman dies in Penn RTC
Claire Brown – Monday 11th November 2019 – 9.00am.
A woman has died in a road traffic collision in Wolverhampton last night.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called by the police to reports of a two car RTC at the junction of Coalway Road, Penn Road and Goldthorn Hill in Penn at 8.36pm (Sunday). Two ambulances, two paramedic officers and a MERIT trauma doctor attended the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Ambulance crews arrived to find a serious RTC involving two cars. One driver, a woman, was in a critical condition being cared for by police officers. Ambulance staff worked as a team to rapidly remove her from the car to commence advanced life support on scene before she was taken on blue lights to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Sadly, despite their best efforts, nothing could be done to save the woman and she was confirmed dead a short time later at hospital.
“The driver of the second car, a man, declined ambulance assessment and was discharged on scene.”
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Man dies in Rowley Regis RTC
Claire Brown – Friday 8th November 2019 – 8.25am.
A man has died following a road traffic collision in Rowley Regis yesterday
West Midlands Ambulance Service received several 999 calls to reports of a collision involving a van and a single-decker bus outside The Cock Inn, Dudley Road in Rowley Regis at 5.01pm last night (Thursday). Two ambulances, two paramedic officers, HART paramedics, a BASICS emergency doctor and a Critical Care Car from the Midlands Air Ambulance attended the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Ambulance staff arrived to find a serious collision involving a van and a single-decker bus. The van driver, a man, was in a critical condition. Ambulance staff began administering emergency treatment to the man whilst working closely with fire colleagues on scene.
“The team of medics worked to administer advanced life support to the man but sadly, despite their best efforts, nothing could be done to save him, and he was confirmed dead on scene a short time later.
“Two passengers from the bus, an elderly man and woman, suffered minor injuries and were taken to Russells Hall Hospital for further checks. The bus driver was assessed on scene but didn’t require hospital treatment.”
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Taking 111 to the next level
Murray MacGregor – Wednesday 6th November 2019 – 12.01am.
Plans that will eventually see the full integration of the 999 and 111 services in the West Midlands (except Staffordshire) have taken an important step forward with the 111 service transferring to West Midlands Ambulance Service.
The change, which took place yesterday at noon, is the first step of a process that will lead to significant improvements for patient care through fully integrating NHS urgent and emergency care services.
The new service will see fewer patients being sent ambulances and lead to a reduction in the number of patients asked to attend A&E.
Instead, the new model will support more patients being cared for in the most appropriate place for their needs. This will also include more patients being provided with care over the phone by a team including GPs; advanced nurse practitioners; community mental health teams; pharmacists, dental nurses, paramedics and midwives. More calls will also be diverted to GPs (in and out of hours), urgent treatment centres and rapid response services operated in the community.
Rachael Ellis, Chief Officer for Integrated Urgent & Emergency Care, Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG, said: “In 2016 the West Midlands launched England’s first Integrated Urgent Care Service which saw NHS 111 and urgent care providers working as one team.
“The launch of our new service is another national first as we move to fully integrate 111 and Out of Hours Services with the 999 service run by West Midlands Ambulance Service.
“Once in place, it won’t matter whether patients dial 111 for urgent care or 999 for emergency care, our patients will all receive the same quality of care with their calls answered quickly and they will have access to the right clinicians for their need.
“This integration represents a real opportunity to work as one system to care for our patients.”
WMAS Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “We have an outstanding track record in running complex clinical call handling operations. This expertise will allow us to bring real improvements to the 111 service for both patients and our staff.
“We will build on the good work that Care UK, the previous provider, had initiated.
“During the winter period we start to make the changes necessary to take the service to the next level. We have already taken on over 200 additional staff so that we can maintain the current service at the highest possible level. In the spring we will begin the work to properly integrate the two services.”
Jeremy Brown, WMAS Integrated Emergency and Urgent Care Director, added: “I want to pay tribute to the staff that have joined us from the existing 111 service. They have absolutely embraced our vision of making the service as easy as possible for patients and together with our existing staff are committed to taking the 111 service to the next level.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for those working in both 999 and 111 with the chance to expand their knowledge and embrace the change which will open up new opportunities to enhance their careers. I am certain that this will bring stability to the workforce and help us to develop and enhance the service for patients.”
UNISON union Regional Organiser, Chanel Camilleri-Willis, said: “We are delighted that the 111 service has returned to the NHS family. This is excellent news for both staff and patients.
“West Midlands Ambulance Service already demonstrates outstanding patient care on a daily basis and I have no doubt that they will bring that same high level of performance and patient care with the 111 service. As well as stability of employment this will provide staff with tremendous opportunities to develop and progress their careers.”
Mr Brown added: “Our main focus is to make accessing NHS services easier for patients. We recognise that sometimes patients have been unsure which service to ring – 111 or 999. Once we integrate the services it won’t matter; we will be able to deal with your concern or query whichever number you call.
“The change will also make it easier for our ambulance crews to find alternatives to taking a patient to A&E as they will have the full range of services available to them.”
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Two seriously injured after car and motorbikes collide
Jamie Arrowsmith– Tuesday 5th November 2019 – 3pm
A collision between a car and three motorbikes has left three patients injured and requiring treatment from ambulance staff, two of them seriously.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Damson Parkway in Solihull at 12.42pm and sent three ambulances, a paramedic officer, a BASICS doctor, the Midlands Air Ambulance Critical Care Car and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance to the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews discovered three male motorcyclists who had all been injured following a collision with a car.
“One of them, who was in his 20s, had initially been trapped underneath the car. Ambulance staff assessed and monitored the man closely, whilst the fire service worked to free him.
“He was then treated for multiple serious injuries and taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, by land ambulance. A Critical Care Paramedic from the Critical Care Car travelled with the man to continue treatment enroute to hospital.
“A teenage male was also treated for multiple serious injuries and was taken to the same hospital by land ambulance, with the doctor from the air ambulance travelling with him to continue treatment.
“A second teenage male was treated for potentially serious injuries and taken to Heartlands Hospital, also by land ambulance.”
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Man seriously injured in M6 collision
Jamie Arrowsmith – Friday 1st November 2019 – 8.05am.
Two men, including one with serious injuries, have received treatment from ambulance staff and been conveyed to hospital following a collision on the M6 in the early hours of this morning.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to reports of a four-vehicle collision between junctions five and six on the northbound carriageway at 4.37am. Two ambulances, a paramedic officer and a MERIT trauma doctor were sent to the scene.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Upon arrival, crews discovered two patients, both men.
“One of them was out of his vehicle and receiving treatment from the police on our arrival.
“Ambulance staff quickly discovered he was in a serious condition and administered specialist trauma care at the scene before transporting the man to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on blue lights and sirens.
“The second patient was assisted out of his car by ambulance staff. He was treated for injuries not believed to be serious and taken to Heartlands Hospital under normal road conditions.
“The motorway remains closed between junctions four and six following the collision and is expected to do so until approximately midday.”
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