Hot TOPICS 
Better use of our hospital would take the strain off hard-pressed ambulance service
(October 14, 2011)THE
Great Western Ambulance Service has been named as struggling for
survival exactly one year after visionforwarminster.co.uk co-author Paul
Macdonald met his constituency MP to talk about the future of local
hospitals.
The
local ambulance service are among around 20 NHS Trusts which have have
been declared as 'not fit for purpose' or being an unsupportable drain on
the public purse by the National Audit Office (NAO) which is the
government's spending watchdog.
"I
raised the issues of under-used local hospitals like Warminster and
over centralisation on two hospitals twenty miles away," says Paul
Macdonald.
"I
talked to Andrew (Murrison MP) last October about the unfair strain
that puts on the ambulance service compared with those in city centres."
Paul
asked whether any study had been made into how much the
'over-centralisation and under-utilisation of local hospitals' cost
compared with the extra cost of ambulances being tied up for much longer
periods getting back on duty.
"My
view is that our ambulance service have had to bear the brunt of a
total health service cock-up and that our local hospitals have to be
revived as the first port of call," states Paul.
The
GWAS is the only paramedic service in the top twenty 'hit list' in a
report that names another 30 that have major cash problems that will
deny them the Tory-LibDem coalition opportunity of independent
'Foundation status.
"Imagine
someone being rushed to Warminster hospital first by an ambulance in
two minute or three minutes for all but the worst emergency care which
need the air ambulance anyway,
"Then they can get back on duty so much quicker."
The
demands on the ambulance crews currently see one skilled paramedic
spend over 20 minutes as a 'taxi driver' to get to the nearest accident
and emergency team claims Paul.
"I
am not surprised that rural areas are once again being audited
as struggling to meet the demands of central government," adds Paul.
"Once again time for those that rule us from London to realise that what
works there cannot work here.
"My
fear is that instead of 'localism' that is the buzz-word of
the coalitionists and the ambulance service cannot be closed the NAO
recommendations that they must merge will take our ambulance service in
the totally opposite direction.
"I
am meeting Andrew later this month on a closely related issue - the
appalling accident record on the A36 around Warminster. Once again I will add this as an issue for him to consider raising as a radical re-think of health service provision."
*See
Hot topics October 19th 2010. 'As I have had the opportunity to talk to
Andrew I have added another issue that I care passionately about. The
future of local hospitals.'