Improving A&E 8 minute response time
The Great Western Ambulance NHS Trust was formed by the Government in 2006 as the answer to poor ambulance performance in three counties. It s the largest ambulance service in the UK, providing an emergency and planned care service to a population of over 7 million in an area of over 5,500 square miles.
The creation of GWAS involved significant change and upheaval and the then Director of Operations, Steve West, was charged with managing the transformation. He quickly realised that with limited resources, he needed support to bring control and governance to 15 of the concurrent projects of service improvement. This was absolutely critical to his main aim of improving the A&E 8 minute response time to 75%.
Steve turned to Practicus who assigned a Programme Manager and team, including three Service Improvement Project Managers and a Computer-Aided Despatch Project Manager for the integration of a new CAD system.
“We specifically needed to bring in skills to the organisation around programme and project management. They were not historically there and we needed to bring those skills in quickly to deliver the pace of change that was required. We would not have delivered the improvement we have been able to deliver without the people from Practicus. I think it’s been the difference between success and failure if I’m honest.” – Steve West, Operations Director, Great Western Ambulance NHS Trust
The turnaround initiative significantly improved performance. As reported in the media at the time, the trust began hitting its response targets.
You can gain more information on our work with this organisation and on similar initiatives by contacting us.
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