Foundation Times - Issue 24 Autumn 2018

South Central Ambulance Service

NHS Foundation Trust

Foundation Times

Issue 25 Winter 2019

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2018 - A year at SCAS 15

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SCAS staff recognised in New Year’s Honours List

SCAS honours outstanding staff

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Can our crews see your house number at night?

Windsor First Responders receive vital funding from Cala Homes

Issue 25 Winter 2019 If you would like to submit an article for Foundation Times please send it to getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk.

Foundation Times is produced by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Editor: Monica Moro Design: Nathan Shelton Cover photo: Taken in the Milton Keynes region

www.scas.nhs.uk

www.twitter.com/scas999

www.facebook.com/scas999

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www.instagram.com/scas_999

Issue 25 Winter 2019

WELCOME Welcome to the bumper winter 2018/19 edition of Foundation Times.

We hope you find it an enjoyable and interesting read. In this issue we have a special report on our achievements in 2018 together with a focus on our annual staff award ceremony, The Ambies.

We are also featuring our regular news and membership/Governors updates, seasonal campaign and health advice.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your comments, thoughts and suggestions on the newsletter.

Your feedback is always welcome at getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk

FRONT COVER PHOTO opportunity If you are interested in photography and would like to see your image on the front cover of the next issue, please send it to us along with details of where it was taken to getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk

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A year at SCAS January

SCAS announced as one of three NHS organisations to enroll on the ambulance version of the Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme.

February

SCAS mascot 999 Ted celebrates his 3rd birthday on Tuesday 6 February.

March

Six new public Governors and four new staff Governors start their three year term on 1 March.

April

SCAS CEO Will Hancock and Senior Operations Manager Marc Begley among guests at West Ashlands, Milton Keynes ceremony to mark the formal start of construction of a new ÂŁ14m tri-services hub for local ambulance, fire and police services.

May

The Royal Wedding and various other key royal events see a number of SCAS staff involved in the festivities, either as medical cover or invitees.

June

Four SCAS staff members receive commendation from High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire for the outstanding care and professionalism they displayed at the scene of a collision between two lorries and a minibus on the M1 in August 2017.

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July

On 5 July 2018 NHS trusts around England, including SCAS, come together to celebrate 70 years since the launch of the NHS and the achievements of the service.

August

SCAS and Isle of Wight NHS Trust (IWNHS) announce regional collaboration.

September

• SCAS welcomes publication of Carter Report, which shows that SCAS is:

• one of the best performing ambulance trusts against national response targets, •

a well-led organisation where operational staff feel engaged and supported, and the Trust delivers an efficient, cost-effective emergency 999 service

• SCAS announces a partnership between SCAS and London Ambulance Service.

October

Vodafone UK announces that it is providing SCAS with mobile devices and a bespoke app to improve efficiency and response times for its Community First Responders (CFRs) and Co Responders (Police, Fire & Military).

November

SCAS celebrates the dedication and outstanding efforts of staff at the annual AMBIES awards.

December

999 Ted and Santa hit the road to give lots of love to children and communities.

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Membership and Governors corner

Latest news from the Council of Governors

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From Steve Garside, SCAS Company Secretary

Governors shared details of their recent activity to engage with SCAS members and also members of the public. They also received an update on current Trust performance from the Chief Executive and an overview of key current strategic issues, including the recently published long-term NHS Plan.

The SCAS Council of Governors (CoG) held its thirtieth meeting in public on Thursday 10 January 2019. This was attended by 17 of the 25 Governors currently in position, as well as a good number of the Trust’s Board members.

The CoG confirmed the arrangements for the forthcoming appraisal of the Chair and NEDs and also reappointed two NEDs – Sumit Biswas and Nigel Chapman – for second terms, as part of their statutory duties.

The CoG has been embarking on a development programme in recent months, which is designed to further enhance the functioning of the group and the effectiveness with which it carries out its statutory duties. In keeping with similar arrangements in place for SCAS Board members and staff, the CoG agreed a Charter of Behaviours which sets out the behaviours Governors consider they should exhibit in carrying out their work. These are aligned to the Trust’s values of teamwork, innovation, professionalism and caring.

The next CoG meeting in public is taking place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 9 April at Shaw House in Newbury. Any SCAS member who would like to attend should contact the Trust’s Company Secretary (company.secretary@scas.nhs.uk) for further details.

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My involvement with the ambulance service Colin Hill, one of our Foundation Trust members for Berkshire and member of our Berkshire Community Engagement Forum, gives us a fascinated insight into his long-time involvement with SCAS and the ambulance service in general.

My involvement with the ambulance service began a way back in 1992. On this date my local ambulance service, the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service, became an NHS Trust.

I saw an item in a loca l newspaper saying the newly formed Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (RBAT) were holding a Board Meeting in Wokingham and the general public were welcome to attend.

service had been the silent service in that it sought very little publicity and there was little information on it in the public domain.

Virtually none, in fact.

So out of pure curiosity I decided to attend the meeting to understand more about the ambulance service. Also, I wanted to see how an organisation functioned at the highest level. I was fascinated by this experience and found it most interesting.

The board members were somewhat shocked to discover a member of the public had actually bothered to turn up. The Trust Chair, Rosie Monbiot, came up to me at the end of the meeting and said how pleased she was that I had come. I resolved to attend the next meeting.

At this time, I knew no more about the ambulance service than the ordinary person in the street. You called 999, the ambulance came from some mysterious place, the crew treated the patient and then took them to hospital. A very basic view of the service.

What could be simpler. Traditionally the 9

I began to attend the Board Meetings regularly and gradually pieced together something about the way RBAT worked.

I asked questions and found that each answer generated more questions in my mind. Things began to snowball. I became fascinated by the unexpected complexity of providing a modern ambulance service compared to the public perception that it was simply a matter of providing a glorified high-speed taxi service to emergency departments. It gradually became apparent that I was the only member of the public who attended these Board Meetings. I liked the idea of being interested in something it seemed no one else was.

Although, I have to admit that perhaps people considered me to be a bit eccentric and odd. And possibly still do. I attended RBAT Board Meetings regularly and got to know many members of RBAT very well.

up Patient and Public Involvement Forums (PPIFs). Every NHS Trust, no matter what its type, was legally obliged to set up a PPIF. Although PPIFs were discussed rather peripherally in RBAT Board Meetings, I first really became involved when a forum member suggested I should become a member of the new established RBAT PPI Forum. After some persuasion, I decided to join, which I did late 2004. This opened up a whole new ‘world’ ambulance-wise. Hitherto, I had just attended public Board Meetings but this was about to dramatically change.

RBAT was initially a bit reserved and cautious in its approach to its forum, but over time began to become quite enthusiastic about it, especially as it got to know the people involved. It invited forum members to attend internal meetings and visit its various facilities, including its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Wokingham. In fact, RBAT invited the forum to attend more internal meetings than it could provide members for.

It only had roughly nine active members.

RBAT also established a monthly meeting with the forum.

Things continued in this way until 2003.

At that date the then government decided that it wanted the general public to be more involved in the National Health Service. After all it was the public’s NHS. To enable this, it introduced legislation to set

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I had several 12-hour shifts in the Wokingham EOC, as did other forum members. As may be imaged these developments, meetings and EOC visits greatly increased my knowledge about the service. By this time, I was beginning to feel I better understood RBAT and the service it provided. And achieving my original objective.

The next change occurred roughly two years later in 2006, when it was decided to abolish the then 29 Ambulance Trusts and form 13 new regional UK Ambulance Trusts, plus the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SCAS) was formed from the three separate ambulance trusts covering the counties of Berkshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire plus the Buckinghamshire part of Two Shires Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Each of these trusts had their own PPIF and it was decided to mirror what had happened to the Trusts themselves and form a combined SCAS PPIF. Interestingly, the former RBAT PPIF

formed the major part of the new SCAS PPIF. All members of the former PPIFs, including myself, automatically became members of the new combined PPIF. From the forum point of view nothing really changed and new combined forum members continued to attend internal meetings and visit various facilities. Of course, everything was on a larger scale now as four counties were involved and not just one, in my case Berkshire. Forum members, including myself, regularly attended SCAS Board Meetings, in addition to the many other internal meetings.

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Although I had visited many SCAS facilities, I had never had a ride-out with an ambulance crew. Nor had any other forum member. However, SCAS was suggesting forum members should have a ride-out. Most forum members weren’t very keen, but I stepped forward. So, in 2009 I had my first ride-out with Paramedic Gavin Bashford, who was the stationed, and maybe still is, at St Mark’s Hospital in Maidenhead. Needless to say, this greatly added to my understanding of what an ambulance service is all about. In this era, I had several further ride-outs in locations from Milton Keynes to Portsmouth.

I have to say I enjoyed my ride-outs and the majority of crews invited me back for further ride-outs.

Up to now my forum membership and my activities as part of it, had continued uninterrupted from 2004, but that was about to change in a major way. In 2012 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust became a Foundation Trust. Sadly, the result was the SCAS PPIF was abolished. All the activities that I had engaged in as a member of the forum were no longer possible.

At this point I did seriously think of calling it a day with my involvement with SCAS. However, I decided to continue to attend the SCAS Board Meetings as a way of trying to keep up to date with developments in SCAS. I also decided to attend the newly created SCAS Council of Governors (CoG) Meetings. I have been attending these meetings ever since.

Having had my wings clipped regarding SCAS activities, I thought I would visit South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb). For reasons I forget, SECAmb was being mentioned quite frequently in SCAS Board Meetings during 2015. So, I began to attend SECAmb Board and CoG Meetings.

This was an interesting experience as it enabled me to compare the way SECAmb did things

with the way SCAS did. One important difference was, they always had a comfort break in the middle of their meetings.

I spent shifts in the then three SECAmb EOCs at Banstead, Coxheath and Lewes. SECAmb have now combined their Banstead and Lewes into a single brand new EOC at their new headquarters at Gatwick. I have visited the new Gatwick EOC. I continued to attend SECAmb Meetings until late 2017, when I decided not to attend any more. The period 2015 to 2017 was a very turbulent time for SECAmb. A new door opened on the ambulance world, when someone who I met at a SECAmb meeting suggested I should join the London Ambulance Service Forum (LAS Forum). This service still has a vibrant and fully functioning forum, although this isn’t its former PPIF. I joined this forum in 2015.

As a result, I visited their Waterloo EOC for a 12-hour shift and it is planned that I should visit their Bow EOC. I have also had a ride-out with a London Ambulance Service crew. It was very interesting to compare London’s way of doing things with SCAS’s. A further ride-out is planned, hopefully with an advanced paramedic. I attend a LAS Forum meeting at the LAS Waterloo Headquarters every month.

Of the current members of the SCAS Board only Will Hancock, the Chief Executive, has been attending SCAS Board Meetings as long as I have, although Charles Porter, the Finance Director, comes close second.

People often ask me – why don’t I become a Governor in light of my experience? I don’t think I would make a good Governor.

I hope the above helps to outline my experience and involvement with the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the ambulance service in general.

I now feel I have a better understanding of the ambulance service than I did a way back in 1992. This was my original objective.

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Over the years..

• I’ve met innumerable SCAS people at all levels.

• I’ve met every SCAS and RBAT Non-Executive Direc tor (NED), including the 6 Chairs starting with Rosie Monbiot.

• I’ve attended the vast majority of SCAS and RBAT Boar d meetings.

In fact, it’s said I have the best attendance record at these meetings.

• I’ve attended the vast majority of SCAS CoG meetings.

• I attended Quality and Safety Committee Meetings until the demise of the Forum.

• I attended Equipment Meetings until the demise of the

Forum.

• I’ve attended many other ad-hoc meetings.

• I’ve visited most SCAS ambulance stations, several as a result of NED station walk arounds or a ride-out. Forum members used to acco mpany NEDs on their walk around visits to ambulance bases. I’ve visited some multiple times.

• I’ve visited all the current and former SCAS EOCs, inclu ding the former Deanshanger EOC. • I’ve spent a shift in all EOCs, except Bicester EOC. As detailed above, I’ve also spent a shift in several non-SCAS EOCs. • I’ve visited both Air Ambulance bases.

• I’ve visited the Patient Transport Service at the Roya l Berks

hire Hospital.

• I’ve attended a SCAS Induction Course at Wexham base

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• I’ve attended an ‘airwave’ training course at Bletchley.

• I’ve attended a new Mercedes Dual Crewed Ambulanc e familiarisation course at Bletchley.

• I was involved in the Ambulance Radio Programme project, which was exceedingly interesting.

• I’ve visited the former vehicle maintenance facility at Battle

site.

• I’ve visited the vehicle maintenance facility at Nursling.

• I’ve visited Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) in Eastleigh.

I have a visit planned to one of London Ambulance Servi ces HARTs. • I’ve visited the former Berkshire Community Equipment Service at Theale.

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SCAS NATIONAL SCAS staff recognised in New Year’s Honours List

Kirsten has worked within the NHS since leaving college, initially working in physiotherapy, then training to become a paramedic with the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Trust from 1995. Kirsten has a keen interest in the health and well-being of staff, especially around staff exposure to trauma. She is also a committed Chair of the SCAS LGBT Network and Deputy Chair to the National Ambulance LGBT Network, both of which are particularly important to her.

Two SCAS members of staff have very deservedly been awarded honours in the New Year’s honours List: Mark AinsworthSmith and Kirsten Willis.

Mark Ainsworth-Smith, (or MaS as he prefers to be known), our Consultant Pre-Hospital Care Practitioner, has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This has been awarded for his work in Emergency Care and Major Trauma. MaS has worked in the NHS since 1987 and has been employed as our SCAS Consultant Practitioner since 2007.

SCAS Chief Executive Will Hancock said: “I am very proud that MaS and Kirsten’s tireless commitment and enthusiasm to their jobs has been rewarded in this way.

They are both excellent ambassadors for SCAS and I am sure you will join me in congratulating them both.

What a wonderful way to start a new year in SCAS!”

Kirsten Willis, our Head of Operations in West Berkshire, has also been recognised and awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for ‘Services to NHS Leadership’.

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SCAS participates in a national CBRN exercise In November SCAS took part in the National CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) training event ‘Exercise Evolving Formula.’ The exercise was sponsored by the Home Office and led by the Office of Security & Counter Terrorism (OSCT).

The live play took place on Tuesday 6 November and involved a multiagency response to a chemical incident on board a train where 150 casualties were affected. Crews from across the Thames Valley worked alongside staff from 16 different organisations including Thames Valley Police, British Transport Police, Fire & Rescue, Buckinghamshire County Council, Network Rail and the Military. Two Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) also took part in the exercise – one from SCAS and the other from East of England Ambulance Service. HART paramedics used their training and specialist equipment and entered the train wearing gas-tight suits and breathing apparatus.

Emergency responders had to undertake major incident triage and guide 130 live casualties through the IOR emergency dis-robe and re-robe process known as ‘Remove, Remove, Remove.’ This allowed staff to put into practice knowledge gained from the two major training campaigns launched by the Resilience and Specialist Operations Department throughout 2018.

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Throughout the week several of our commanders represented SCAS at a series of tactical and strategic co-ordinating groups. Commanders were supported by both tactical and strategic advisors from the Trust’s Resilience Team, as well as several loggists and staff officers. These exercise elements allowed SCAS Commanders to represent the Trust within the Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum and to gain experience in what the response to a CBRN incident within the Thames Valley would look like.

SCAS Resilience & Specialist Operations Manager Lindsey Hobbs said: “Exercise Evolving Formula was the culmination of four months’ worth of planning by the Trust’s Resilience Department. SCAS heavily invested in the exercise, with over 100 members of staff taking part. It was a great opportunity for us to demonstrate multi-agency working and shows our ongoing commitment to the training and development of the responding crews and commanders. I am grateful to everyone that took part throughout the week and I hope that it was a valuable experience.”

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SCAS WIDE

The annual staff and volunteer awards, known as the Ambies, were held by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) at the Old Thorns Country Hotel in Liphook on Friday 30 November. The Ambies showcase those members of staff and volunteers who epitomise the Trust’s values of teamwork, innovation, professionalism and care.

This prestigious black tie event is made possible thanks to the generous contribution of our sponsors Hexagon Intergraph UK, Conduit Global, J Tomlinson, Ortivus UK, SSG UK Specialist Ambulance Service, Terrafix Limited and Zoll Medical UK.

Team of the Year - Support Medicines and Research Team

999 Person of the Ye ar Neil Durrant, Clinical Op erations Manager – South Buck inghamshire and East Berkshire

Commercial Services Contact Centre Person of the Year Carol Stuart, Non-Emergency Patient Transport Call Taker

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e Year Volunteer of th ling Island Richard Coates, Hay sponder Community First Re ernor, Head and Hampshire Gov munity of Operations - Com aining Nic Engagement and Tr the award Morecroft collected on his behalf

Educator of the Year David Emery, Clinical Mentor Commercial Services Operational Person of the Year Andrew Gordon, Ambulance Care Assistant

olders Award Partners and Stakeh for Innovation Contract team The Thames Valley PTS

CCC (Clinical Coordination Centre) Person of the Year Michele Foote, CCC Duty Manager

Governors Ambassador Award Terry Court, Co-responder (Royal Air Force-Brize Norton)

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NHS 111 Person of the Year Sharron Mackenzie, Shift Manager

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e Year Support Person of th er Philip Smith, HR Manag

The People’s Pride Award Neil Durrant, Clinical Operations Manager – South Buckinghamshire and East Berkshire

Team of the Year –Operations Senior Operations Team

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SCAS welcomes new Director In autumn SCAS welcomed former Improvement Director for NHS Improvement Mike Murphy as the new Director of Strategy and Business Development.

Mike said: “As an experienced NHS executive board member, I have previously worked as Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development at University Hospitals Southampton NHS FT. Since leaving that post I have also been the Programme Director responsible for establishing the regional Programme Office to oversee the implementation of the Unplanned & Emergency Care Review for NHS England (South). My most recent role was an Improvement Director for NHS Improvement assigned to Trusts in special measures. As part of this assignment I assisted St Georges in Tooting to move out of an “Inadequate” CQC rating to “Requires Improvement”.

I consider myself to be a business strategist but recognise that the patient must always come first. I have a wealth of experience within the NHS Acute, Financial Services, Retail, Utilities and Service sectors with well-known brands.

I am particularly excited to be joining SCAS at this time because I feel that significant opportunities exist to place the Ambulance Service at the forefront of healthcare provision in the future.”

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SCAS THAMES VALLEY SCAS celebrates opening of new Reading NEPTS Resource Centre In November SCAS CEO Will Hancock cut the ribbon at the official opening of the new Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) Resource Centre in Reading. The new site, at Loverock Road, replaces the previous base at the Battle Hospital site.

The opening coincided with the final Board meeting of the relocation project, which was held at the site.

The move to Loverock Road wasn’t always smooth, with the project delayed when a group of people broke in and caused extensive damage during the renovation of the building. Everyone pulled together to ensure that the service kept running successfully for our patients, despite having to work out of portacabins for a period due to the delay.

The new base has lots of space and facilities, and all the staff agree that it is a big improvement on the previous site.

Cakes and sandwiches were laid on in the new crew room to help celebrate the opening.

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Thames Valley Air Ambulance set for new heights As from October 2018 popular local charity, and emergency medical provider, Thames Valley Air Ambulance is an independent healthcare provider.

Started by funding from the AA in 1999 Thames Valley Air Ambulance has evolved from being a fast method of transporting patients to hospitals, to bringing hospital level treatment to the scene of an incident. Equipped with the iconic red helicopter, four new critical care response cars, specialist doctors, paramedics and pilots, cutting edge technology and advanced medication, the charity really is at the frontline of saving lives.

Over the last 19 years of operation Thames Valley Air Ambulance has built up invaluable partnerships with its fellow 999 service providers and will continue to work closely with South Central Ambulance Service, Thames Valley Police and The Fire Service. As an independent healthcare provider the charity will now be able to provide at least 14 extra hours of critical care response a day.

Visible changes include the addition of new critical care response cars and uniforms as well as new specialist equipment onboard every vehicle.

This new operating model will allow the charity to better serve those who live, work and travel within the Thames Valley in the years to come. Chief Executive Amanda McLean said of the transformation “As an organisation fully funded by the generosity of our local community, it was our determination to provide the very best service to them that led us to make this operational change.

This is an exciting advancement for Thames Valley Air Ambulance and whilst visually you might notice some changes, our new response cars and uniforms for instance, there is absolutely no change in our commitment to providing advanced critical care to people when they need it most.�

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SCAS HAMPSHIRE

Happy 5th Birthday Labour Line!

On 5 November 2013, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust went live with the first successful 24hr Labour Line, supporting those in early labour and providing advice to pregnant women in the Andover, Winchester, Eastleigh and Basingstoke areas. In March 2015 we were nominated for and won the National Award for Excellence in Maternity Care at the Royal College of Midwives Annual Award Ceremony in London.

University Hospital Southampton Trust joined us in June 2015, increasing our geographical area to include central and outer Southampton and the New Forest.

In April 2017, Portsmouth Hospital Trust joined, and Labour Line now covers the whole of Hampshire. Women can choose to have their baby either in their own home, or in one of six birth centres or four hospital labour wards spanning all three Trusts.

In the past year, we have taken 24,969 calls from women and partners!

The total number of babies born in the Labour Line patch in the past year is 17,004!

There is a team of 26 midwives from all three Trusts running a support and advice line 24/7 from the Control Room at SCAS in Otterbourne. When they are not on the phone with their own patients they are assisting SCAS with maternity emergencies, from supporting and advising crews over the phone, to standing down ambulances when they are not required.

Since recording began, Labour Line has stood down 286 ambulances, saving a total of £71,500 for SCAS! Here’s to the next five years in working together and successfully providing care and advice to those having babies across Hampshire!

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Portsmouth Hospitals Board Members Visit North Harbour Resource Centre The challenges of handing over patients at Queen Alexandra Hospital (QAH) are widely known, especially during the winter time. On Wednesday 12 December SCAS were delighted to welcome Mark Cubbon, Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Paul Bytheway from Portsmouth Hospitals Trust to talk to the team at North Harbour, including colleagues from South CCC. Tracy Redman, Head of Operations said “We are pleased that Mark and Paul took the time to come to see us – this has never happened before and shows both the importance and focus they have on this issue and the strong relationship between our two organisations. Whilst we recognise a lot of work has been done and is ongoing, we are also clear that there is still a long way to go. We will, no doubt, still experience challenging times ahead but we are working closer than ever to ensure we are prepared and able to manage such times.”

Mark and Paul are very aware of the impact of handover delays on the patients in the wider community and on SCAS staff and service delivery. They were able to explain where progress has been made so far and some of the plans for the future to improve the situation even more, to help us better understand the actions being taken. Of equal importance was the opportunity for the SCAS team to ask questions and raise issues in order to enhance their understanding and support future developments.

It was clear that it was a useful experience for all. Sue Mitchell, Team Leader, commented “It was very informative and nice to hear that they understand our challenges.” That was echoed

by Emergency Care Assistant Derek Webb, who said “It is important that they came and that we all work together – we are all on the same team.”

James Hunt, Shift Officer from our Clinical Coordination Centre in Otterbourne, said “It was a frank and informative discussion that provided a clear roadmap of how acute healthcare in the region will be improved over the coming years to improve patient safety.”

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Red bags launched in West Hampshire Eastleigh MP Mims Davies has given her backing to a new nationally recognised Red Bag scheme in Hampshire. The bags are designed to accompany care home residents when they go into hospital to keep their possessions safely in one place. NHS West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group has been working with local care homes, University Hospital Southampton, Southern Health and South Central Ambulance Service to bring red bags to the area.

The bags are designed to carry people’s health information, care plan and medication, as well as personal items like glasses, slippers and dentures so they don’t get lost if they go into hospital.

The Sutton project has led to: • Reduced average hospital stays by three to four days, saving £167,000 a year • Fewer lost items such as dentures, glasses and hearing aids worth £290,000 in a year • Improved communication between care home and hospital staff saving time, resources and duplication.

The Chairman of the CCG, Dr Sarah Schofield, welcomed the scheme: “This is a simple way of preventing peoples’ important possessions from getting lost when they go into hospital. It is also an effective way of ensuring all important information is kept with the patient in one place. I would like to thank our colleagues in the local hospitals, ambulance trust and care homes for their enthusiastic support for red bags.”

The CCG has worked with all partners to help staff understand the red bag system and know who is responsible when someone goes into hospital and when they return home afterwards.

Red bags have been phased in across the West Hampshire CCG area from November 2018 in the Eastleigh, Romsey and New Forest areas.

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SCAS recognised for its work on National Blue Light Collaboration programme SCAS has been awarded the Partner Organisation of the Year by Hampshire Fire and Rescue service at their Annual Staff Award ceremony.

Vivienne Parsons, Specialist Business Analyst from the Business Intelligence Team, led the work that combined Police, Fire and Rescue Service, and SCAS Hampshire incident data to identify opportunities for more effective joint working by understanding how we work together and build a better understanding of demand.

The aim was not only to understand how we can respond together more effectively, but also to identify opportunities for preventative work.

The findings not only delivered significant understanding of RTC (Road Traffic Collision) incidents, including peak activity time, clinical severity based on day of week and time of day, and areas that had unexpectedly high levels of incidents, but also provided insight for both partner agencies regarding their own workload.

One key finding was that certain communities are high intensity users of our services, both together and as single agencies.

However, the focus is now about turning this knowledge into action. Work has begun on demographic profiling of people involved in RTCs to see if targeted messages can be used for preventative work and whether trauma severity is driven by the fact that people may be travelling through the area, rather than being local residents.

The work has also been very useful in building links with other partner organisations, including Local Authorities and Ordnance Survey (OS) who have been very supportive in enhancing the data. For example, OS, working with the agencies, are using RTC incident volume and clinical acuity data to develop a model of road risk based on the physical characteristics of the incident location, which is producing some very interesting insights.

Other less obvious outcomes have been requests to support work in the prevention of domestic violence and county lines drug dealing through the development of joint predictive models.

Operational colleagues are also working on the findings in areas such as incident protocols, more effective incident location verification, and concern for welfare incidents.

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Vivienne commented: “I think it is fair to say that the other agencies were very impressed with the quality of the data we have, particularly on service users, but more importantly our ability to turn it into meaningful information�.

Because of this work, Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has requested support in a similar work programme, with the aim of joint working across all five partners.

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SCAS SURREY AND SUSSEX NEPTS Awareness sessions at East Surrey Hospital In October the NEPTS team in Sussex took part in a NEPTS Awareness Session at East Surrey Hospital with NEPTS Hospital Liaison Officer Kim Bramham, to make staff in the hospital more aware of how to book non-emergency transport, and to make people aware of the service. The following day there was a drop-in session at Worthing Hospital.

Visitors to the sessions got to chat to the NEPTS lead from the hospital and SCAS hospital liaison officers, Ian Thomson, Business Locality Manager Sussex and Graeme Pigeon, Senior Operations Manager Surrey. Christine McParland and Kim Bramham who were also on hand to provide support and training.

For visitors there was even a prize draw to win ÂŁ10 Boots voucher.

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CAN OUR CREWS SEE YOUR HOUSE NUMBER AT NIGHT?

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Lives are at risk because emergency crews cannot see house numbers and property names easily.

As illness and injuries can occur at any time, we ask you to ensure your house name or number is clearly visible from the road by day and night, so that, when you need us most, we can find you quickly and easily.

Some addresses can be very difficult to find, particularly in rural areas. Every second wasted because paramedics can’t find the right house has a profound effect on the outcome, so we’re encouraging everyone to spend a few minutes doing something about it.

The three following steps would assist us greatly:

We recommend making sure: • Check your house name or number is visible from the road

• that numbers or house names are at least three inches in height and 4ft above the ground

• Make sure that there are no trees or bushes obstructing the sign

• if the property is more that 75ft from the roadway, that the number is displayed on a postbox/gate or similar no further that 25ft from the edge of the street.

• Switch on, when possible, an outside light.

It is essential that when the emergency services are called we can find the address as quickly and as easily as possible. We encourage all members of the public to ensure that their house name or number is as visible as possible at all times.

It can be frustrating and time-consuming for visitors and delivery people to identify addresses but in emergency situations it could literally be the difference between life and death.

Our crews have the assistance of sat-navs and, of course, local knowledge. However, when visiting an address for the first time not being able to see a name or number clearly from the roadside could result in delays for emergency services reaching people.

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CA M PA IG N

Please help us to help you!

10 winter illnesses Some health problems, such as asthma, sore throat and cold sores, are triggered or worsened by cold weather. Here's how to deal with cold weather ailments.

Colds

Sore throat

You can help prevent colds by washing your hands regularly. This destroys bugs that you may have picked up from touching surfaces used by other people, such as light switches and door handles.

Sore throats are common in winter and are almost always caused by viral infections. There’s some evidence that changes in temperature, such as going from a warm, centrally heated room to the icy outdoors, can also affect the throat.

Top tip: If you get a cold, use disposable tissues instead of fabric handkerchiefs to avoid constantly re-infecting your own hands.

Top tip: One quick and easy remedy for a sore throat is to gargle with warm salty water. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in a glass of part-cooled boiled water.

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Issue 25 Winter 2019

Asthma

Cold air is a major trigger of asthma symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath. People with asthma should be especially careful in winter.

Norovirus

Also known as the winter vomiting bug, norovirus is an extremely infectious stomach bug. It can strike all year round, but is more common in winter and in places such as hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

Top tip: Stay indoors on very cold, windy days. If you do go out, wear a scarf loosely over your nose and mouth.

The illness is unpleasant, but it’s usually over within a few days.

Top tip: When people are ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, it’s important to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Young children and the elderly are especially at risk.

Painful joints

Many people with arthritis say their joints become more painful and stiff in winter, though it’s not clear why this is the case.

There’s no evidence that changes in the weather cause joint damage.

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Top tip: Many people get a little depressed during the winter months, and this can make them perceive pain more acutely. Everything feels worse, including medical conditions.

Heart attacks

Heart attacks are more common in winter. This may be because cold weather increases blood pressure and puts more strain on the heart.

Your heart also has to work harder to maintain body heat when it’s cold.

Top tip: Stay warm in your home.

Heat the main rooms you use to at least 18C and use a hot water bottle or electric blanket to keep warm in bed.

Cold sores

Most of us recognise that cold sores are a sign that we’re run down or under stress.

While there’s no cure for cold sores, you can reduce the chances of getting one by looking after yourself through winter.

Top tip: Every day, do things that make you feel less stressed, such as having a hot bath, going for a walk in the park, or watching one of your favourite films.

Cold hands and feet

Raynaud’s phenomenon is a common condition that makes your fingers and toes change colour and become very painful in cold weather.

Fingers can go white, then blue, then red, and throb and tingle. The small blood vessels of the hands and feet go into spasm, temporarily reducing blood flow to your hands and feet.

In severe cases, medication can help, but most people manage to live with their symptoms.

Top tip: Don’t smoke or drink caffeine (both can worsen symptoms) and always wear warm gloves, socks and shoes when going out in cold weather.

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Issue 25 Winter 2019

Dry skin

Dry skin is a common condition and is often worse during the winter, when environmental humidity is low.

Top tip: Have warm, rather than hot, showers. Water that is too hot makes skin feel more dry and itchy.

FLU

Flu can be a major killer of vulnerable people.

People aged 65 and over, pregnant women and people with long-term health conditions, including diabetes, kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are particularly at risk.

Top tip: To help you get better more quickly: • rest and sleep • keep warm • take paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower your temperature and treat aches and pains • drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration (your pee should be light yellow or clear)

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Windsor First Responders receive vital funding from Cala Homes 42

Issue 25 Winter 2019

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The cash boost was awarded to the group as part of the award-winning housebuilder’s 2018 Community Bursary scheme, which saw a number of charities, groups and organisations across Berkshire receive funding for projects

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Formed in 2006, Windsor CFR Scheme brings together people from every walk of life with a common goal of making

a difference by volunteering their time and skills in potentially life or death situations. As well as their role as CFRs volunteers also fundraise for the Charity and work in their communities promoting the importance of bystander CPR and demonstrating the use of public access defibrillators.

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Windsor Community First Responders (CFRs) has received ÂŁ1,700 funding from local housebuilder CALA Homes, to install a communication and tracking system in its first response car. This new device will provide access to the mapping database currently used by other emergency services. CALA Homes is an upmarket, award-winning housebuilder, whose Millennium Fields development is located in nearby Bracknell.

funds in the past in order to equip ourselves with necessary equipment such as defibrillators and first aid kits, however we have always lacked a suitable communication and tracking system, which can impact negatively on our response time in an emergency.

That’s why we’re so grateful to CALA Homes for their generous funding. The Terrafix system allows electronic transfer of data, sent from the Emergency Operations Centre via a mobile phone signal, which will enable us to access the mapping database used by other emergency services. Finding a house in an estate with no numbering can be very time consuming and every minute lost potentially reduces the chances of survival of a patient in cardiac arrest by 14%!

that would make a significant impact on their community. Windsor Community First Responders was carefully selected as one of the lucky recipients, with the money going towards a state-of-the-art communication Terrafix tracking system.

Nick Twine, Managing Director for CALA Homes (Thames), said: “We are delighted to have been able to support the Windsor Community First Responders as part of the 2018 Community Bursary scheme.

Community is firmly placed at the centre of our ethos, and the first response volunteers perfectly mirror this, with the incredible work they do - potentially saving lives. Therefore we are thrilled to provide the funding to enable them to purchase and install their system, which will hopefully result in much more effective communication between them and the emergency services.”

“In the first week of its installation, we were called to four 999 calls and on all four callouts the local volunteers were first to the scene and were able to start patient care before the arrival of an ambulance.

The intuitive new system took us right to the doorstep of the emergency.”

Frank Epstein, Volunteer at Windsor Community First Responders and Berkshire Governor, added: “The Windsor group of CFRs have successfully raised enough

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Issue 25 Winter 2019

Thanks to SCA charity our frontline staff have now winter beanies In December the SCA Charity took delivery of new beanie hats for distribution to our crews.

Staff had suggested that this was something that would make their lives a little bit nicer during the cold winter months and the Charity was able to organise these just in time for our busiest and coldest time of the year.

We hope these go a little way towards showing our appreciation for everything our frontline staff do and will help to keep them all warm!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff and volunteers for the support they have given the SCA Charity this year. We are hoping to raise even more funds next year so that we can support even more projects across SCAS. If you would like to help with fundraising or make a donation, please contact info@sca-charity.org.uk

Community First Responders come from all walks of life. If you are interested in joining SCAS as a volunteer you will need to be over the age of 18, physically fit and healthy, able to carry out effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for up to 20 minutes (after training) and be a car owner with a full UK driving licence.

Community First Responders (CFRs) receive full training by SCAS to provide life-saving treatment and if they are sent to an emergency they are always backed up with the nearest available ambulance.

Every six months, all CFRs must complete training to refresh their skills and there 45

are optional monthly training sessions they can attend too.

SCAS is currently supporting all CFRs to achieve a national qualification – Level 3 Certificate in Ambulance First Response – which will provide them with enhanced emergency medical skills they will be able to utilise prior to our ambulance crews arriving on scene.

For more information, please go to sca-charity.org.uk

Membership Get your friends, colleagues and family to join!

Do encourage your friends and family to become members. They can become a member of SCAS as long as they are aged 14 or over and live in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire or Oxfordshire.

They can also join if they, whilst not residing in one of the four counties listed above, have a connection with the Trust. For instance, they may be somebody who receives services from SCAS, works in one of our four counties or has friends or family who work for the Trust or live in the South Central area.

Update your details If we need to cancel an event it is important that we can contact members at short notice.

We would appreciate if you could please promptly notify the membership office of any future changes to your contact details.

Contact You can contact the membership office with any queries about membership or this newsletter. Please email getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk or telephone 01869 365126.

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Issue 25 Winter 2019

Out and About – What’s on in your area We are always keen to engage with our members and the public.

Our list of events is published on our website at www.scas.nhs.uk/get-involved/events/ and is always being updated so don’t forget to keep checking back for more. You can see upcoming Board Meetings, Community Engagement Forums, Engagement or Recruitment events. See you there!

Offers –

Health service discounts We would like to remind all our FT members that as a member of South Central Ambulance Service you can take advantage of fantastic offers usually only available to NHS staff, via Health Service Discounts.

It is a website where you can access exclusive offers and reductions when shopping online.

You can also print out vouchers, get advice from confidential, free helplines, book holiday and activities; all in the knowledge that you’ll be saving money.

To take advantage of the discounts on offer you will need to register and you can do this for free.

Registration is straightforward - just fill in the online form as directed.

Simply go to www.healthservicediscounts.com, click on ‘Join’ and fill in the online form, select ‘Foundation Member’.

FUN CORNER – Find 999 Ted

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999 Ted, our mascot, is hidden in one of our articles……did you spot him?

Public Governors

Berkshire constituency

Mark Davis

Frank Epstein

Colin Godbold

Public Governors

Hampshire constituency

Andy Bartlett

Richard Coates

Barry Lipscomb

David Luckett MBE

Charles McGill MBE

Tony Nicholson

Public governors

Buckinghamshire constituency

Vacancy

Bernadette Devine

Bob Duggan

Appointed Partner Governors

Staff Governors

Public governors

Oxfordshire constituency

Paul Ader

Stephen Haynes

Loretta Light

Emma Crozier

Lynn DoveDixon

Jim Dunderdale

Kate Moss

David Palmer

Sabrina Chetcuti

Jeanette Clifford

Dr David Chilvers

Dr Anne Crampton

David Drew

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Cllr. Keith House

Issue 25 Winter 2019

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS

The Council of Governors meets four times a year and represents the interests of members and stakeholder organisations.

Meetings are open to the public.

For more information please visit our website at www.scas.nhs.uk/ft

If you would like to get in touch with a Governor, you should do so at the following address: Company Secretary South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 7-8 Talisman Business Centre Talisman Road Bicester Oxfordshire OX26 6HR Or you can send an email to company.secretary@scas.nhs.uk 49

ices

We always want to hear from you Contact the Membership Office Please get in touch with the membership office if you: èè want more information about what we do èè have a story you want to share with other members èè want us to come along to an event in your local area èè need to change your contact details èè want to get more involved and update your involvement choices èè want membership forms or other literature to distribute èè want to raise an issue with a governor Email: getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk or Tel: 01869 365126

Want to know more about what goes on in the Trust?

This newsletter is a very important method for us to keep our Members up to date but so much happens across our services every day that it is hard to fit it all in! If you want to know more about what goes on in your ambulance service or want more details on what you have read in this newsletter, there are a number of ways for you to do this: Visit our website https://www.scas.nhs.uk/ Watch our videos on SCAS999 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58tlgillDAUA2gVGFNh78A Follow us on Twitter @SCAS999 Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SCAS999/

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If you think someone has been exposed to a HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE Issue 25 Winter 2019

Use caution and keep a safe distance to avoid exposure yourself.

TELL THOSE AFFECTED TO:

REMOVE

REMOVE

REMOVE

...from the immediate area

…if affected by the substance.

...from skin using a dry absorbent material to either soak it up or brush it off.

THEMSELVES...

to avoid further exposure to the substance. Fresh air is important.

If the skin is itchy or painful, find a water source.

REPORT... use M/ETHANE

OUTER CLOTHING...

Try to avoid pulling clothing over the head if possible.

Do not smoke, eat or drink.

Do not pull off clothing stuck to skin.

THE SUBSTANCE...

RINSE continually with water if the skin is itchy or painful.

REMEMBER: Exposure is not always obvious. SIGNS CAN INCLUDE: Unexplained signs of skin, eye or airway irritation, nausea, vomiting, twitching, sweating, disorientation, breathing difficulties.

The presence of hazardous or unusual materials.

A change in environment, such as unexplained vapour, odd smells or tastes.

ACT QUICKLY. These actions can SAVE LIVES. 51

supported by JESIP

How are we doing?

Ambulance Response Programme

Apr-DEC 2018 What does it mean?

Category 1 – life-threatening calls.

Responded to in an average (mean) of seven minutes and at least nine out of ten times within 15 minutes (90th percentile).

Category 3 – urgent calls. Responded to at least nine out of ten times within 120 minutes.

You may be treated by ambulance staff at the scene.

Category 2 – emergency calls. Responded to in an average (mean) of 18 minutes and at least nine out of ten times within 40 minutes (90th percentile).

Category 4 – less urgent calls. Responded to at least nine out of ten times within 180 minutes. You may be given advice over the phone or referred to another service, such as a GP or pharmacist.

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Issue 25 Winter 2019

Category 1

Category 2

Mean

06:58

Mean

15:48

90th Percentile

12:42

90th Percentile

31:34

Incidents

Incidents

20,344

Category 3 90th Percentile Incidents

Target achieved

169,764

Category 4 90th Percentile

1:56:15

Incidents

115,220

Target missed

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2:47:14

9,583

Produced by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Units 7 and 8 Talisman Business Centre Talisman Road Bicester Oxfordshire OX26 6HR Tel 01869 365000 | getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk | www.scas.nhs.uk