Welcome to the official website of West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust.
The Trust serves a population of 5.6 million people covering an area of more than 5,000 square miles made up of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Coventry, Birmingham and Black Country conurbation.
The West Midlands is full of contrasts and diversity. It includes the second largest urban area in the country (Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country) yet over 80% of the area is rural. We are the second most ethnically diverse region in the country after London which makes it vital that we work closely with the many different communities we serve. Ensuring we listen and respond to their suggestions and comments ensures that our service meets the needs of everyone in the region.
As the region’s emergency ambulance service, we respond to around 4,000 ‘999’ calls each day. To manage that level of demand, we employ approximately 7,000 staff and operate from 15 new fleet preparation hubs across the region.
Many people still think ambulance services only take patients to hospital. In fact, only just over 50% of our patients end up going to an emergency department with the rest either being treated at the scene, given advice over the phone or taken to another service such as a GP or minor injuries unit.
We have achieved that by investing heavily in the skills that our staff. We are the first Trust in the country to have a paramedic on every vehicle. The additional skills they bring enable them to carry out many more treatments at the scene and en-route to hospital if it is required, which improves patient care.
We also provide non-emergency patient transport services across some parts of the region for those patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition or clinical need. Our staff complete approximately 1,000,000 non-emergency patient journeys each year.
As an organisation, we were formed in 2006 bringing four previous services together. In January 2013, we were authorised as a Foundation Trust and in line with the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, was licensed as a provider of NHS Services on 1 April 2013. As a Foundation Trust, we must have a Constitution that is compliant with current statute and the regulators Code of Governance. More information about a Foundation Trust, can be found within the page What is a Foundation Trust?
We hope that you find the other pages of the website informative and helpful.