Birmingham Post - Tag - west midlands ambulance service

Ambulance service prepares for new network of community stations

Birmingham Post — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:40:00 GMT

Five ambulance stations in the Black Country and South Staffordshire are about to move to new locations as part of a service shake-up. The Make Ready programme involves the creation of 24/7 fleet maintenance hubs with a dedicated team of Ambulance Fleet Assistants preparing, servicing and maintain the fleet of ambulances. Oncoming ambulance crews collect their ‘made-ready’ vehicle and go to Community Ambulance Stations from where they respond to 999 calls. The aim of the system is to cut down on the time crews spend dealing with issues such as cleaning their vehicle or restocking, which are times when they are unable to respond to medical emergencies. Two fleet maintenance ‘hubs’ will be created within the Black Country, at Dudley ambulance station, in Burton Road, and at Electrium Point, in Willenhall.

Ambulance service in plea to 4x4 drivers in Warwickshire

Birmingham Post — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:45:00 GMT

Ambulance bosses in the West Midlands have sent out an SOS to owners of 4x4s to drive nurses around and "help patients receive vital treatment".

West Midlands ambulance chiefs planning fewer stations, control rooms and patients

Birmingham Post — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:25:00 GMT

Ambulance chiefs are planning to cut ambulance stations, transport control rooms as well as ensuring it transports fewer people to hospital as part of measures to reduce waste.

Birmingham Airport paramedics replaced by first aiders

Birmingham Post — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Birmingham Airport is to axe its 24-hour paramedic service for passengers from Monday.

West Midlands ambulance staff to share their expertise in India

Birmingham Post — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:35:00 GMT

Four members of staff at West Midlands Ambulance Service are to travel to India to bring medical help to people in the world’s poorest city.

Three injured as cars collide on A446 near Sutton Coldfield

Birmingham Post — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:18:00 GMT

Two men and a woman were injured when two cars collided in north Birmingham today.

No Headline

Birmingham Post — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:06:00 GMT

A Midland widower whose wife died after alleged delays by paramedics in getting her to hospital has criticised the ambulance service for not apologising four years after her death.Roger Bereza, who lives in Coventry, spoke out after West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) paid an undisclosed six-figure-sum in an out of court settlement earlier this month.His 41-year-old wife Tracey had suffered asthma since childhood but on April 11, 2004 she had an acute attack and her condition continued to worsen, so Mr Bereza dialled 999 for an ambulance.As well as complaints about the way the ambulance crew treated his wife at the scene, he said they had to ask him for directions to the nearest hospital and went the wrong way.A crew of two paramedics arrived at the family home at just after 9.20pm but, he said, it took more than 75 minutes to take his wife to hospital during which time she went into respiratory arrest.Mr Bereza, a 47-year-old RAC patrolman, claimed there was a series of shortcomings in the way his wife’s care was handled and once in the ambulance she suffered a respiratory arrest.He said he could only watch as his wife vomited blood, turned blue and arrested in front of him, as his three daughters looked on from the house.“By now I knew I had to do something, so I started doing chest compressions on Tracey’s chest while one of the paramedics tried to get the defibrilator to work. Monitors were showing her pulse was at zero, and we were still on the driveway. I couldn’t give up on her, even though I realised it was the beginning of the end.”They arrived at Coventry & Warwickshire A&E at 10.35pm. Mrs Bereza never regained consciousness and died four days later after her family took the difficult decision to turn off her life support machine.The couple, who had three daughters aged 20, 19 and nine, were due to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary in June 2004.Despite the pay-out from WMAS, the family said they had yet to receive a formal apology or admission of liability.A trust spokesman said: “WMAS first became involved in the treatment of Mrs Bereza on the evening April 11, 2004 when her husband called for an ambulance. Mrs Bereza had suffered an asthma attack after inhaling polish fumes.“The trust wrote to Mr Bereza on July 22, 2008 in regard to his claims about the level of care given to his wife and expressed its ‘sincere regret’.“WMAS is always learning from its experiences and strives constantly to find ways of improving patient care.“In light of this case, further inquiries into the trust’s protocols were undertaken to ensure that the training and actions of staff are appropriate at all times.”Mr Bereza added: “I am still extremely angry. This tragedy should never have happened.“Although Tracey had suffered from asthma since childhood, it was controlled most of the time. We knew that if she had a severe attack we had to get her to hospital as soon as possible. Even though we live just 10 minutes from the nearest A&E, I had always been told to call an ambulance and not to attempt to drive there myself in case we got stuck in traffic or Tracey required emergency oxygen for her nebuliser.“I wish I’d ignored this advice and taken Tracey to hospital myself.”Lindsay Gibb, a medical negligence expert with Birmingham-based law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is a hollow victory for the family because despite agreeing to pay a significant sum by way of compensation, the trust has not apologised to the family or accepted that its paramedics were negligent in any way.“The relevant guidelines state that: …’in a life threatening or acute severe asthma attack - do not delay transportation. Load and go to nearest suitable receiving hospital and provide nebulisation en route’.“This clearly was not the case on this occasion and the evidence suggests these delays were responsi

'Drunk tank' reopens in Birmingham for bank holiday

Birmingham Post — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:00:00 GMT

A temporary 'drunk tank' is to be reopened on one of Birmingham's busiest streets as revellers enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend.