Latest news with #SWASFT
BBC News
13-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Devon and Cornwall ambulance crews 'treating people at home'
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said it takes fewer patients to hospital than any other ambulance trust in the May 2025, nearly a third (30.53%) of patients were seen and treated on scene and did not require conveyance to hospital, according to NHS figures show in July 2025, patients waited an average of two hours to be admitted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and almost an hour and half outside the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Garry Cornelius-Dodds said: "As a general rule, if they can stay at home, we do as much as we can to leave them at home. We try and explore every option to leave people at home." A hospital emergency department should accept the transfer of a patient into their care from an ambulance within the national performance standard time of 15 not, a handover delay occurs and the patient remains in the ambulance until the hospital accepts the handover of executive of SWASFT Dr John Martin said the ambulance service alone could not significantly reduce the delays experienced or resolve the current explained handover delays reflected blockages in the flow of patients through the health and social care system and because of this a "whole-system response" was required. Since November 2024, SWASFT has been working with the region's hospitals to develop a Timely Handover Process (THP) which is now up and running in 13 hospitals in the south west. It aims to free up crews to respond to other 999 calls in the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said it had seen a reduction in average handover times of approximately 80% since the introduction of THP.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
South West ambulance community first responders 'a lifeline'
"New incident, category three." This is community first responder Barry Catton's first call of the day, being sent to an 87-year-old man who is poorly and unable to get out of his starts by taking the patient's vital signs and is quickly backed up by an ambulance crew. He is also able to access support from clinicians at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) emergency operations centre in Exeter, Devon. "We've got his legs lifted. We've also got some water in him to try and lift his blood pressure. "The paramedics are trying to see if they can find the right pathway, rather than just taking him to hospital," he says. Mr Catton, 61, from Exmouth, Devon, started volunteering as a community first responder (CFR) in the West Midlands 15 years ago before continuing the role when he moved to the south-west of attended 500 jobs for SWASFT in 2024 and was already on target to beat that figure in 2025, he service 'ready for busy summer'"I sign on most evenings for between one and seven hours, and I normally get a call out every two to three hours," he describes it as a "privilege" to treat people in their homes at their worst time. CFRs play a vital role, particularly in rural areas where they often reach patients before an ambulance trained volunteers, who wear official SWASFT uniforms, attended nearly 30,000 emergency 999 calls between April 2024 and March those, 25% were life-threatening category one about 10% of the time, CFRs were the only resource required to see the patient, while being supported remotely by specialist paramedics or clinicians."As responders, we are expected to do around 12 hours a week, but many of us do a significant amount more," says Mr adds that, as they generally drive their own cars, they must keep to the speed limit and do not get blue light exemption. Becky Melville, 26, from Barnstaple, Devon, spends about 12 hours a week volunteering as a says: "It's quite frightening for patients to be waiting a long time for an ambulance, and a lot of the time they are quite scared. "So it's nice to give that reassurance and provide some care for them until the ambulance gets there."Asked if she had saved a lot of lives, she answers: "I'd like to think I have." The SWASFT covers Bristol and the former Avon area, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and said that included providing ambulance services across an area of 10,000 sq miles (25,900 sq km), some 20% of mainland the SWASFT has a whole host of people available to help save lives within their local community, including nurses, engineers, postal workers, and teachers. There were 650 CFRs across the region — its highest number ever — and the service was actively recruiting more, bosses said."Our CFRs are a lifeline to local communities," says Jane Whichello, trust head of volunteering and community services. "They provide vital reassurance, life-saving treatment, and often arrive before an ambulance — making a critical difference in emergencies."
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
South Western Ambulance Service 'ready for busy summer'
The South Western Ambulance Service says it is ready for a significant rise in demand during the school summer year, the region welcomes about 23 million visitors according to the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) – that is on top of the 5.5 million people it already the region more than one million emergency 999 calls are made each John Martin, chief executive of SWASFT, said: "We know the summer will be a busy period for us, so we want to make sure that we're there for everyone that needs us in a medical emergency." SWASFT is encouraging residents and tourists to plan ahead to ensure a safe and healthy summer by:Knowing how to describe your exact location in a remote or rural area by using What3Words – a free app which converts your location into a unique three-word address, so the emergency services can find use of community pharmacies, which can advise on minor illnesses and provide considerate when parking to make sure there is enough room for emergency service vehicles to pass through. Dr Martin said: "We need your support to help us, help you, by asking you to choose the right care so we have crews available for patients with the most life-threatening conditions."999 is for when someone is seriously injured or ill and their life may be at risk. For example, if someone is unconscious, not breathing or is bleeding heavily." The trust said it was leading the country in treating patients at home, which avoided unnecessary hospital a third (30.5%) of all patients in May were assessed and treated by paramedics at the scene without needing to be taken to hospital, it Trust's Emergency Operations Centres in Bristol and Exeter use a triage system to assess and prioritise said, in many cases, patients could be helped over the phone through the service's Hear and Treat May, 13,309 patients - about 14.5% of all callers - were treated remotely or directed to more appropriate NHS services without needing an ambulance on scene, the trust Barker, deputy head of clinical operations and safety, said: "If we can send our ambulances to patients who need them most, that's our ultimate goal."
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Motorcyclist seriously injured in Bournemouth ambulance crash
A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a crash involving an collision happened at the junction of Wellington Road and Beechey Road in Bournemouth shortly after 10:30 BST on Harley Davidson rider, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that were believed to be serious but not Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said the ambulance involved was not carrying a patient at the time and its crew were unharmed. A spokesperson for SWASFT said: "We dispatched one double-crewed land ambulance, an operations officer, a critical care car and a tactical commander to the scene. We conveyed one patient to Poole Hospital by land."We would like to offer our very best wishes to the patient."Dorset Police would like to speak to witnesses and any motorists who may have captured dashcam footage. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Gloucestershire cheese rolling: Two people taken to hospital
Two people had to be taken to hospital from the traditional cheese-rolling races in Gloucestershire on on Cooper's Hill, which has an incredibly steep gradient, the annual event drew thousands of spectators to watch competitors from across the world chase large cheeses down the Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said it sent an air ambulance and five land ambulances to the event after the first race, at about 12:15 races are labelled "unsafe" by the local authority and are classed as an extreme sport. A spokesperson for SWASFT said: "We were called at 12:17hrs on Monday 26 May to an incident at Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire. "We sent five double-crewed land ambulances, an air ambulance, an operations officer, a doctor, a first responder and the hazardous area response team to the scene. "We conveyed two patients by land ambulances to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital." While ambulances were able to access Cooper's Hill this year, there have been times paramedics have struggled to access to the site, with the cheese rolling said to put a strain on emergency Borough Safety Advisory Group (SAG) warned the public that the event was advance of this year's races, the group said it had safety concerns, one being whether the emergency services would be able to respond to a potential "major incident" involving multiple casualties. As reported by the BBC on Monday, one person from the first men's race was taken to Stewart, a Tewkesbury Borough Councillor, said the council does not want to stop the event from happening in future, but does have safety concerns."The Safety Advisory Group has been left with no alternative other than to declare the event unsafe and has a duty to share this with the public," Mr Stewart the safety warnings, the event continues to attract people from across the YouTube sensation IShowSpeed needed medical treatment after taking part in the 2024 event,.German YouTuber Tom Kopke claimed victory in one of the men's downhill races for the second consecutive year on cheese rolling, believed to date back 600 years, is largely staffed by volunteers.
