London Ambulance Service AGM on Tuesday @ 1pm

The following message was sent out today to all London LINks members but any member of the public interested in London's NHS or the London Ambulance Service may attend the AGM on Tuesday and put questions to the Board of the Trust. Some of the issues raised by the Patients Forum are at the bottom of this invite.

Dear London LINks,

London Ambulance Service AGM next Tuesday, 28th September at 1pm at LAS HQ, Waterloo Road, SE1 (near the Old Vic)

Next Tuesday (September 28th) sees the AGM of the London Ambulance Service at the LAS Headquarters in Waterloo from 1pm. The meeting is open to the public and I hope that as many LINk members as possible will attend. We need to ensure that the voice of LINks is heard and I would hope that LINk members will put questions to the LAS Board at the AGM.

The Patients' Forum has covered a wide range of issues over the last year – stroke services, equalities issues within the LAS, first responders, the Olympics, Category B calls, Patient Transport Service etc. and we will asking for updates on many of these issues and others at the meeting.

I attach a list of issues that we have raised with the LAS and you might like to pick issues from this list to raise with the Chief Executive and Chair, and the Forum’s Annual Report where we have asked for responses from the LAS on a range of issues but have not yet received them.

It is really important that we make our presence felt and scrutinise the Board of the LAS at this AGM, particularly as they prepare for Foundation Trust Status.

I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday at the AGM.

Best wishes

Dr Joseph Healy

Patients' Forum Chair

Some issues you might like to put to the LAS Board on September 28th 2010

Category A Response

Forum Recommendation

The LAS should carry out a retrospective study of the 4591 patients who were classified as Category A in 2009 but did not receive a Category A response, to assess the consequence of them not receiving a Cat A response.

The LAS should provide clinical outcome data to justify providing a Category A service within 8 minutes for some patients, 19 minutes for others.

The LAS should plan for a gradual increase in the number of life- threatened patients who receive a service within 8 minutes. Costing should be provided for 1% increase in performance above the current 75% response within 8 minutes.

The LAS should demonstrate how they intend to achieve Clinical Performance Indicator completion rates of 95%.

Staff training and multi-disciplinary reviews of patients’ care

The LAS should arrange for all paramedics and technicians to be supported and encouraged to meet with A&E and other hospital clinical staff in formal multi-disciplinary meetings, to review and learn from the care of patients who have been in their care.

Commissioners should ensure that funding supports staffing levels sufficient to enable all front line LAS staff to participate in training programmes that ensure they are fully, continuously and appropriately trained to carry out their duties to the highest possible standards. This should include participation in multidisciplinary reviews of patients’ care.

Patient Transport Services (PTS)

That the LAS adopt the Forum’s Quality Standards for PTS. These have already been accepted by the North East London PCT sector, and negotiations are continuing with the other commissioners and the London P Programme.

User involvement, choice and patient centred services are at the core of this recommendation.

Communications with patients

The development of a programme to recruit Emergency Operations Centre staff that can practice clinically in more than one language.

Research to assess the potential clinical impact on patients who receive a slower service because they cannot clearly describe their symptoms because of communications difficulties.

LAS support and fund LAS staff who speak a second language to take the Institute of Linguists Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI)

The LAS should be given the highest priority for access to the Language Line interpreting services and provide evidence that audit is carried out, of languages provided for users of the LAS.

C1 Driving Licences for new paramedics

That the LAS make available resources to pay C1 costs for 30 new entrants to the LAS each year (approximately £30,000) whenever there is a period of active recruitment.

That payment of C1 costs for 30 new applicants are targeted at groups under-represented in the workforce and advertised as bursaries.

Diversity in the LAS workforce

That the LAS should welcome advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the means of bringing about a transformation of the workforce in terms of its diversity and the way it reflects the population of London.

That the LAS should work with voluntary sector organisations in London to establish, in the medium term, the means of recruiting new staff from underrepresented communities.

That the LAS should examine recruitment procedures and ‘cultures’ within the LAS to discover if there are any factors which prevent the development of diversity in the LAS front-line workforce.

Mental Health Care

The LAS should review the care of treatment of people suffering from severe mental health problems who are taken from a public place or their home to assess the clinical outcomes and the patients’ views on the care received.

The LAS should give consideration to developing an expert cadre of paramedics trained as mental health practitioners.

The LAS should develop an assessment tool to ensure that the LAS, police, social services, GPs and mental health practitioners are working effectively when mental health assessments are carried out on patients with severe mental health problems.

Patient specific protocols should be actively promoted for patients with severe mental health problems who are regularly admitted to hospital to avoid the use of general A&E services.

The report on the LAS 2008 Mental Health Conference and the recommendation developed by participants should be published by the LAS.

The Camden Pilot for assessment of patients with mental health problems should be rolled out across London.

Complaints and Incidents

The LAS should provide the Forum with details of all recommendations arising from the investigation of patients’ complaints.

Recommendations arising from each LAS complaint should be provided immediately the investigation is finished. This should be followed by six monthly reports on implementation of these recommendations with evidence of impact, outcomes and enduring improvements to service.

The LAS should develop systems to provide assurance that recommendations from complaints have an enduring influence on service improvements over the long term, and this evidence should be provided to complainants.

The LAS should routinely provide the following information to the Forum:

• Ombudsman’s investigations of complaints against the LAS, with any recommendations.

• Serious Untoward Incidents (SUIs), outcomes and recommendations.

• Coroner Rule 43 recommendations to the LAS

Details of all current SUIs and SUI outcomes should be reported at public LAS Trust Board meetings and published on the LAS website.