IT Work - Ambulance

UK ambulance services have experienced a revolution in working styles as a result of technology. ICT has been used extensively in command and control centres to make the service more efficient and responsive. New secure digital communications systems have replaced crackly broadcast systems. Satellite tracking of resources (such as ambulances, helicopters, paramedic cars and bikes) and geographical information systems allow the optimal resource to be deployed at all times by centre staff. Technology is used to analyse patterns of usage to roster (call in) the exact number of staff required. It uses geographical analysis to decide where it is best to position ambulances and other resources so that they can be deployed to nearby locations very quickly. Ambulances are placed at points that are closed in travel time to places of peak demand and are tracked at all times to show where they are.

The Staffordshire ambulance service says of the impact of new technology: “The adopting of this modern approach has resulted in remarkable results in the Trust performance in recorded response times. This has given the Trust the lead position in national ambulance table’s fir the last seven years. It has also seen dramatic improvements in the cardiac survival figures.”

The introduction of this system in London in the 1990s, however, was extremely problematic, not least because of the working practices that were brought about by the introduction of these measures.

Task –
Research the impact on the working styles of ambulance workers in your area, and of the London Ambulance Service, after the introduction of new technologies.

Why have some workers objected to being sited in their “resources” in the most efficient place rather than being sited in the ambulance station? What other drawbacks have there been with the introduction of these ICT systems? What have been the benefits of these systems?

Add your research to your Blog.

http://www.wmas.nhs.uk/ --- Blocked by the School! (Governement blocking the Government!)


http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las/lascase0.9.pdf


The introduction of technology to both ambulance services greatly increased their effectivness. They for one were able to reach their destinations quicker due to better vehichles and secondly the equipment used to save the lives has been updated and more things were able to fit inside the back of the ambulance giving a higher survival rate to patients because it was now easier to treat a fataly wounded patient in the back of the ambulance or at least keep them alive.

Being away from the ambulances causes the service to have to move further to get to their ambulances before actually going out, this decreases the effectivness of the ambulances and increases the time it takes to get to their destinations. This lowers the amount of lives that could be saved by being closer to the ambulances.

The ICT systems run on electricity, if these were to fail then they would not be able to know if someone was hurt without having some kind of backup service. If that backup service also was lost along with power then there would be no way to help the wounded and dieing. The benefits of these systems however have been that getting calls for the ambulance and re-laying information from the caller to the crew has been increased which allows the crew to know what they are dealing with and work out the best thing to do long before they have reached the patient, this allows for a better understanding and quicker reactions of the crew.