Emergency Services Review. Good Practice Guide for Ambulance Services and their Commissioners

Source: Department of Health

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Date of publication: October 2009

Publication type: Best practice

In a nutshell: This report draws together published guidance for UK Ambulance Services and is directed at Ambulance Service managers, Commissioners and Partners in Unscheduled Care. The report addresses: Ambulance Service Commissioning, Whole System Working and Effective Partnerships, aspects of Operational Performance (Understanding Demand, Aligning Resources to Demand, The Call Cycle & Emergency Operations Centres) and Escalation. The report is extensively referenced with hyper links to relevant documents on the web and a full bibliography.

Length of publication: 27 pages

Ambulance HART – Harzardous Area Response Team

Source: Ambulance HART (Harzardous Area Response Team)

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Date of publication: 2009

Publication type: Website

In a nutshell:  Hazardous Area Response Teams originated from a 2004 report on the feasibility of Paramedics working in the inner cordon or hot zone of major incidents. The website explains the roll of  HART programme and reports on the progress of creating HART teams within Ambulance Services. Areas covered included:  recruitment, training, current initiatives, a news wire and online access to the Inside HART newsletter.

Pandemic influenza toolkit for NHS ambulance services in England

Source: Department of Health

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Date of publication: August 2009

Publication type: Best Practice

In a nutshell:  This toolkit is part of the Department of Health’s (DH) programme for improving and enhancing the preparedness within NHS ambulance services for managing pandemic influenza. The aim is to support ambulance trusts in the delivery of an operational response. This toolkit of available best practice guidance is intended as a practical guide for NHS ambulance trusts, covering the handling of issues associated with an influenza pandemic. It has been developed by the DH Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme (PIPP) in conjunction with health professionals and colleagues from DH, strategic health authorities (SHAs) and NHS ambulance trusts.

Length of publication: 7 pages

Some important notes: This document supports Pandemic influenza: Guidance for ambulance services and their staff in England, which is available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu. The document may be updated to reflect lessons learned from future operational experience.

Ambulance of tomorrow unveiled

Source: News Distribution Service for Government and the Public Sector

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Date of publication: July 2009

Publication type: News Item

In a nutshell: The Smart Pod – an idea for the ambulance of the future – was unveiled at the Innovation Expo in London.  The Expo showcases the very best of healthcare innovations from the UK and abroad.

Smart Pod’s revolutionary design takes the best features from the present day ambulance and combines them with revolutionary new functions including an expandable mobile treatment centre and Smart Infection Control along with a raft of clinical innovations that utilise state of the art communications technologies

The Smart Pod is a joint venture between the Royal College of Art and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

 Length of publication: Webpage