It’s called government cut backs. Police, ambulance, fire, hospitals it all counts to the delay with every one having to travel greater distances an waiting longer to book people on because of staff shortages. Police are regularly attending jobs at the request of the ambulance only for them to say there not attending due to police being first aid trained and there’s no longer a need for them
Santa:
chopped…The problem is compounded by the considerable number of people who turn up at A&E with minor problems that they should have gone to their GP with. Not to mention the wino’s and druggies.
I would have to add that the problems of the 111 non-emergency telephone service and the number of occasions when patients are advised that an ambulance transfer to a hospital is needed.
GP’s out of hours service is, I would measure, at somewhere between poor and non-existant (based on my own experience with 2 local practices used by both mine and immediate family) and the varying walk-in, A&E, options hardly help when the patient is rarely the person with the expertise to make the judgement. And this is, IMHO, another factor complicating the decision making process.
carryfast:
As far as I know I’ve never seen or read in the news of any emergencies locally being delayed by a broken down or crashed V8 Chevy ambulance.But I have seen more than a few of the modern diesel heaps accelerating out of roudabouts under blue lights slower than the average new driver in a Corsa
unlike those old Chevys.
Un[zb]believable. I have traveled in the back of an ambulance, on a stretcher. You’ve taken stupid comments to a new and depressing/frightening low. The prime concern for all medical practitioners is to DO NO HARM and that, that you suggest, would in all probability do harm to seriously injured patients or crew trying to treat them. As to never reading about ambulances crashing then maybe a web search will add to your knowledge pool and help you make a more considered contribution. To help here is a link to US statistics (you did mention chevys.)
emsworld.com/article/1022539 … sh-roundup
I was taken hospital in an ambulance last year. The crew told me that they and a crew on the previous shift had been called to the same woman’s house three times.
Once they got there they found that she had called them because
She had lost her glasses
She couldn’t find the remote to her TV
Her tv remote wouldn’t work.
I asked why they couldn’t just refuse to attend and they pointed out that if they did that and there was something wrong they could be sued.
There is one ambulance out of the system
Care in the community doesn’t always work.
Wiretwister:
carryfast:
As far as I know I’ve never seen or read in the news of any emergencies locally being delayed by a broken down or crashed V8 Chevy ambulance.But I have seen more than a few of the modern diesel heaps accelerating out of roudabouts under blue lights slower than the average new driver in a CorsaUn[zb]believable. I have traveled in the back of an ambulance, on a stretcher. You’ve taken stupid comments to a new and depressing/frightening low. The prime concern for all medical practitioners is to DO NO HARM and that, that you suggest, would in all probability do harm to seriously injured patients or crew trying to treat them. As to never reading about ambulances crashing then maybe a web search will add to your knowledge pool and help you make a more considered contribution. To help here is a link to US statistics (you did mention chevys.)
emsworld.com/article/1022539 … sh-roundup
I’d say it all depends on wether you think that the slight extra risks of ( what is hopefully ) a decent driver with a fast ambulance driven accordingly outweigh the risks of extending journey times both outward and return caused by plodding along the road at low speeds to avoid ‘risk’.It’s obviously an argument that involves a lot more people than just myself.
As for me no thanks if I or anyone in my family needed an ambulance,having been involved in a serious accident,in which every minute between the time of the accident and arriving on the operating table,could mean the difference between life or death,I’d rather be looked after by those with my view and at least Surrey Ambulance service at it was then,than those with your views and Surrey/South East Coast Ambulance service a it stands today in which the elf and safety risk assessors and cost accountants are obviously running the show.That’s assuming the hospital actually has the capacity to carry out the required treatment as required on arrival after all the financial cutbacks being that the accountants have also taken over the hospitals in addition to the ambulance services.
mickyblue:
‘…Bedford … force are so under staffed it is un real…’
I can imagine that to be true, except that it really is today’s reality 
nedflanders:
‘…this really is a cost-cutting measure, it’s about saving money…’
Money to spend on what. Exactly 
Carryfast:
‘…too much money has been spent on … EU membership rather than keeping the money at home …’
Aaah …the Bisto moment.
But let’s not worry: Dave ‘Dunwich’ Cameron (from the now disappeared but once very propseperous English coastal city washed away by the tides of change) will maybe/possibly force us to accept a bit of an EU reshuffle ‘one-day’ (perhaps).
Mind you’s, Clegg would be worse and Millibandit is just as pro-EU.
Anyone see where I’m going with this 
-
How many V8 Chevvy ambulances does Surrey ambulance service have on their fleet?
-
Is there an air ambulance available for use within the Surrey ambulance borders?
Given the time that first responders will be working on the patient before transfer you still want to stick with the V8 Chevvy over the alternatives?
i’ve said it over and over again. we have to waste 8 hours a year doing a cpc course. wouldnt them 8 hours be better used doing a first aid course.at the end of the day lorry drivers are about the roads 24 hours a day. i came across a car crash on the a75 2 years ago. i was the 2nd person on the sence… i didnt have a clue what to do… 1 of the fellas died on the sence and i couldnt help but feel useless
Wiretwister:
@carryfast.
How many V8 Chevvy ambulances does Surrey ambulance service have on their fleet?
Is there an air ambulance available for use within the Surrey ambulance borders?
Given the time that first responders will be working on the patient before transfer you still want to stick with the V8 Chevvy over the alternatives?
The Chevy ambulances have been gone for quite some time now at least since the Surrey Amulance Service seems to have been merged into the Sout East Coast Service.I’m not sure of the exact numbers but when they were being used you could see ( and hear 
) the things being used throughout the County to great effect on emergency calls and they made the London service’s equipment look mickey mouse by comparison.So I’d assume it was a large scale replacement programme based on the Chevy’s combination of performance and being up to the job v the Brit and Euro competition when money was obviouly less of an issue to those doing the purchasing and paying for the fuel.
As for the air ambulance service and first response paramedics using quick cars it should be a case of having all of those options ‘in addition to’ a decent ambulance service and good well equipped hospitals serving the local area as we had previously not a case of ‘either or’.As opposed to the present situation of an ambulance service run for the benefit of the accountants not the patients and hospitals run on the basis of so called ‘centres of excellence’ while removing the capabilities of other hospitals.Which is a flawed idea which actually creates an over reliance on the air ambulance service.Bearing in mind the limitations in regards to fleet numbers of air ambulances and their specialist crews and the extra distances over which casualties need to be transported which such a stupid idea creates.
As I’ve said I wouldn’t like to rely on the services which we’ve got locally both in regard to hospital emergency surgical capabilities and our present ambulance services especially in the case of something like the event of a major RTA on the south west section of the M25 involving large numbers of casualties having to be reliant on the present underfunded lash up of Surrey’s present and proposed hospital provision let alone it’s similarly run ambulance service.All of which is about saving money not about providing the best possible medical emergency service.
milkchurns:
i’ve said it over and over again. we have to waste 8 hours a year doing a cpc course. wouldnt them 8 hours be better used doing a first aid course.at the end of the day lorry drivers are about the roads 24 hours a day. i came across a car crash on the A75 two years ago. i was the 2nd person on the scene… i didn’t have a clue what to do… One of the fellas died on the scene and i couldn’t help but feel useless
If ever I saw a sensible suggestion then this is it. Your truck is quite possibly equipped with a first aid kit. When did you last check it? And would you know what to do with the contents anyway?
I would add that how to deal with a vehicle fire should also be included.
milkchurns:
i’ve said it over and over again. we have to waste 8 hours a year doing a cpc course. wouldnt them 8 hours be better used doing a first aid course.at the end of the day lorry drivers are about the roads 24 hours a day. i came across a car crash on the a75 2 years ago. i was the 2nd person on the sence… i didnt have a clue what to do… 1 of the fellas died on the sence and i couldnt help but feel useless
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.There really is no substitute for fast response times by all concerned with that knowledge and then getting the casualty/ies to a well equipped well staffed hospital using the fastest means possible with the hospital in question being as close in term of distance as possible. 
None of which suits the present government austerity agenda. 
milkchurns:
i’ve said it over and over again. we have to waste 8 hours a year doing a cpc course. wouldnt them 8 hours be better used doing a first aid course.at the end of the day lorry drivers are about the roads 24 hours a day. i came across a car crash on the a75 2 years ago. i was the 2nd person on the sence… i didnt have a clue what to do… 1 of the fellas died on the sence and i couldnt help but feel useless
No reason why you can’t do a First Aid course as one of your CPC sessions.
Santa:
milkchurns:
i’ve said it over and over again. we have to waste 8 hours a year doing a cpc course. wouldnt them 8 hours be better used doing a first aid course.at the end of the day lorry drivers are about the roads 24 hours a day. i came across a car crash on the A75 two years ago. i was the 2nd person on the scene… i didn’t have a clue what to do… One of the fellas died on the scene and i couldn’t help but feel uselessIf ever I saw a sensible suggestion then this is it. Your truck is quite possibly equipped with a first aid kit. When did you last check it? And would you know what to do with the contents anyway?
I would add that how to deal with a vehicle fire should also be included.
The average vehicle fire is going to take some serious fire fighting capabilities unless it’s caught ( very ) early with a decent sized fire extinguisher which most people don’t carry because it’s size makes it inpractical and even then it’s still a matter of luck wether it’ll put it out in time before it runs out.Although having said that a truck has good capabilities in being able to carry and secure the type and size of extinguisher/s that could make a difference.
Carryfast:
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.
I don’t think that’s true. OK, where major internal injury bleeding etc is involved then there’s not a lot Joe Public can do to influence the outcome. But most life-threatening road accidents involve compromised airways, shock, major fractures, cardiac arrest and external bleeding. These are the sort of things that we can do something about if we have the knowledge (and the confidence to apply said knowledge) in order to keep the casualty alive until the specialists arrive.
Roymondo:
Carryfast:
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.I don’t think that’s true. OK, where major internal injury bleeding etc is involved then there’s not a lot Joe Public can do to influence the outcome. But most life-threatening road accidents involve compromised airways, shock, major fractures, cardiac arrest and external bleeding. These are the sort of things that we can do something about if we have the knowledge (and the confidence to apply said knowledge) in order to keep the casualty alive until the specialists arrive.
It’s going to be a bit difficult for Joe Public to know if the reason why the casualty is in shock is because of a broken rib that’s gone into a lung causing internal bleeding and in which CPR and/or putting them into the recovery position is just going to possibly make matters a lot worse.First aid in the real world can be a mine field.
Roymondo:
Carryfast:
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.I don’t think that’s true. OK, where major internal injury bleeding etc is involved then there’s not a lot Joe Public can do to influence the outcome. But most life-threatening road accidents involve compromised airways, shock, major fractures, cardiac arrest and external bleeding. These are the sort of things that we can do something about if we have the knowledge (and the confidence to apply said knowledge) in order to keep the casualty alive until the specialists arrive.
+1
and at least you could try and do something with a bit of knowledge and training
remember the truckers who put the fire out in the car on the M3 with all the wet leaves ,burning in the footwell i believe with the girl trapped in it
Carryfast:
Roymondo:
Carryfast:
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.I don’t think that’s true. OK, where major internal injury bleeding etc is involved then there’s not a lot Joe Public can do to influence the outcome. But most life-threatening road accidents involve compromised airways, shock, major fractures, cardiac arrest and external bleeding. These are the sort of things that we can do something about if we have the knowledge (and the confidence to apply said knowledge) in order to keep the casualty alive until the specialists arrive.
It’s going to be a bit difficult for Joe Public to know if the reason why the casualty is in shock is because of a broken rib that’s gone into a lung causing internal bleeding and in which CPR and/or putting them into the recovery position is just going to possibly make matters a lot worse.First aid in the real world can be a mine field.
the simple thing of knowing how to keep a casualty breathing could be the difference between life and death
d4c24a:
Roymondo:
Carryfast:
In most cases in the real world it takes a massive amount of medical knowledge and expertise to make a big difference in most serious types of life threatening situations.I don’t think that’s true. OK, where major internal injury bleeding etc is involved then there’s not a lot Joe Public can do to influence the outcome. But most life-threatening road accidents involve compromised airways, shock, major fractures, cardiac arrest and external bleeding. These are the sort of things that we can do something about if we have the knowledge (and the confidence to apply said knowledge) in order to keep the casualty alive until the specialists arrive.
+1
and at least you could try and do something with a bit of knowledge and training
remember the truckers who put the fire out in the car on the M3 with all the wet leaves ,burning in the footwell i believe with the girl trapped in it
It’s obvious that anyone would do whatever they possibly could in such an emergency but that shouldn’t then be relied on by the government to make financial cut backs to the emergency services.Because despite the best efforts of the public it’s often going to take the emergency services to make the difference and emergency service availability,response and journey times,together with having local well equipped hospitals,are all an essential part of that.
Carryfast:
Wiretwister:
@carryfast.
How many V8 Chevvy ambulances does Surrey ambulance service have on their fleet?
Is there an air ambulance available for use within the Surrey ambulance borders?
Given the time that first responders will be working on the patient before transfer you still want to stick with the V8 Chevvy over the alternatives?
The Chevy ambulances have been gone for quite some time now at least since the Surrey Amulance Service seems to have been merged into the Sout East Coast Service.I’m not sure of the exact numbers but when they were being used you could see ( and hear
As for the air ambulance service and first response paramedics using quick cars it should be a case of having all of those options ‘in addition to’ a decent ambulance service and good well equipped hospitals serving the local area as we had previously not a case of ‘either or’.As opposed to the present situation of an ambulance service run for the benefit of the accountants not the patients and hospitals run on the basis of so called ‘centres of excellence’ while removing the capabilities of other hospitals.Which is a flawed idea which actually creates an over reliance on the air ambulance service.Bearing in mind the limitations in regards to fleet numbers of air ambulances and their specialist crews and the extra distances over which casualties need to be transported which such a stupid idea creates.
As I’ve said I wouldn’t like to rely on the services which we’ve got locally both in regard to hospital emergency surgical capabilities and our present ambulance services especially in the case of something like the event of a major RTA on the south west section of the M25 involving large numbers of casualties having to be reliant on the present underfunded lash up of Surrey’s present and proposed hospital provision let alone it’s similarly run ambulance service.All of which is about saving money not about providing the best possible medical emergency service.
Didn’t they have V8 LDV’s?
I spent 27 years on the Fire service the only time people complained was when we were late
They didn’t generally bat an eye when we were downgraded or stations were shut or crews shift systems or pensions towards which we paid 11 percent of salary so hardly gold plated were ahem modified So you the public get the service you deserve
I’ll give you an actual example from the East mids ambulance service that was put together from various county ones as a lowest common denominator sort of fusion
There was a call to an Road crash in Loughborough and the nearest ambulance was at Beechdale in Nottinghamshire it took them 29 mins to get there driving their arses off and they got abuse upon arrival
So wake up and smell the coffee
carryfast:
As far as I know I’ve never seen or read in the news of any emergencies locally being delayed by a broken down or crashed V8 Chevy ambulance.But I have seen more than a few of the modern diesel heaps accelerating out of roudabouts under blue lights slower than the average new driver in a CorsaUn[zb]believable. I have traveled in the back of an ambulance, on a stretcher. You’ve taken stupid comments to a new and depressing/frightening low. The prime concern for all medical practitioners is to DO NO HARM and that, that you suggest, would in all probability do harm to seriously injured patients or crew trying to treat them. As to never reading about ambulances crashing then maybe a web search will add to your knowledge pool and help you make a more considered contribution. To help here is a link to US statistics (you did mention chevys.)
emsworld.com/article/1022539 … sh-roundup
+1
My condelences to your friend for what he has seen and witnessed Jessica’s Dad. And I hope the man killed did not have to suffer too long to meet his peace 
Another needless death on the roads. You’re right though it will all come out at the Coroner’s inquest but it won’t change the poor dead person’s situation.
Wiretwister, you have to excuse Carryfast, he doesn’t always think laterally that other things may have to happen in situations and in this example, the back of an ambulance, its more than just driving the vehicle to an incident like a lunatic and then back again at double time!
It could be as quick as a formula one car to the scene, but its got to get there in one piece safely to be effective and still take you back in one piece to get treated at hospital!
So is it imperative that you have a huge engine up front or that the proper care is administed correctly and safely for all involved in the situation?!
You’ll most probably have to return to the hospital at a relatively slower speed than what you arrived at, as you’ll have a person in the back injured, with injuries that may require you to drive delicately and a paramedic having to stand up administering medical aid, such as CPR or potentially administering an injection or ensuring a patient don’t move due to a spinal/neck injury.
That is not something a V8 or a diesel engine can do by lurching round bends and roundabouts at 30+mph, it just don’t work like that in the real world!
As you can see already with a few factors already in the mixing pot above a simple V8 engine just couldn’t solve all of this on its own. That is way too simple a solution to a complex problem!
Its a sad fact the last serious accident I witnessed involved waiting 15 minutes for the first emergency vehicle to turn up, a traffic policeman on his own in a Volvo estate. That poor policeman was basically sent on his own to try and save a motorcyclist with a first aid kit (that he would have been told in advance by dispatch what the incident was).
Unfortunately the motorcylist did not survive his injuries at the scene. I felt very sorry for the policeman as he could not help us either, just like we could not help him. As he had his first aid skills like us and a bigger kit than the three of us with all of ours, who were trying to do our best, but the motorcyclist required way more complicated medical care than we could ever provide on the side of a road, most probably more than a paramedic ambulance could’ve provided. We basically needed an air ambulance team or an A&E department across the road from us.
Again I feel this will be happening more and more as time goes on in this country, as the proper cuts take effect from this year on.
What I am trying to say is you can’t blame it on the type of vehicle they are driving that is just plain stupid!
What they actually require is a diverse range of vehicles in numerous locations, which will actually make attending an incident quicker than just having a V8 under the bonnet. This approach could then have a greater chance of making a difference to a patients life.
Realistically that can only be achieved by having a large number of vehicles and correctly trained crews to cover the black spots and demand.
Alas the government will not stop spend that money, as someone said earlier the value of life is being devalued by bean counters and whitehall bureaucrats as the years progress now.
Remember the MP’s don’t really make the decisions (they’re merely puppets), the civil servants do all the real decisions and they ain’t voted in. As those MP’s come and go through history as voting patterns change, whilst the masterplan will still be followed regardless of who is in power!
Sorry to appear like I am picking on you Carryfast, but I thought some of your posts were quite crass and ill thought out for this particular post, saying V8 engines would’ve changed the situation. Normally I at some of your posts on other subjects but this one had to be back up with with what Wiretwister and Santa said and others about the protocol ambulance crews have to follow at present.
PS I used to drive around in a V8 range rover private ambulance for people who did not require medical care anymore, but still required a stretcher. They were shocking for space, roll and general ride, a bit like those chevy’s looked just taller, good job those souls in the back we’re already dead and didn’t require treatment.
All I can say is keep those diesels with all that space for drugs, stretchers, equipment and treatments to help those that need it most in their hour of need!
C