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47
general section stations and the Headquarters administrative and clerical staff under
the Officer-in-Charge numbers 18.
Alleviation of Strain
Steps taken to ease the strain on the London Ambulance Service include:—
A measure of decentralisation was introduced under which certain hospitals
requiring ambulances for large numbers of out-patients make their applications
direct to the nearest general section ambulance station, instead of centrally to the
Control Room.
Decentralisation
An additional telephone line was installed at each of the general section ambulance
stations and ambulance crews are instructed to telephone their stations on
arrival at hospitals so that, in suitable cases, they can be sent straight on to other
calls.
Telephones
To reduce pressure on the Control Room telephone system, printed application
forms were introduced and issued to the larger hospitals in London to enable orders
to be sent by post when time permitted.
Ambulance
orders
Many enquiries regarding the administration of the London Ambulance Service 1
were received during the year from other local health authorities who became res- ^
ponsible for providing ambulance services under the National Health Service and
many visits were made by their representatives to study the method of central
control and the detailed organisation of the London Ambulance Service.
Major Accidents
Three major disasters involving calls on the London Ambulance Service occurred
during the year.
The most serious occurred on 23rd January when six ambulances were sent to
London Bridge Station following a collision between two trains, and 18 casualties
were taken to hospital.
On 18th November, 1948, two trains collided at Woolwich Arsenal Station.
Five ambulances were despatched and removed six casualties to hospital.
A collision between a private car and a bus in East Dulwich Grove on 21st
November, 1948, resulted in the death of five persons and injuries to twelve others.
Three ambulances attended at this accident and conveyed the casualties to hospital.
Statistics
Comparative statistics for 1938 (the last full year before the war) and the years
1945-1948 are:—
Accident Section
No. of calls No. of cases Mileage
1938 56,318 58,196 293,166
1945 52,136 53,452 286,281
1946 56,971 58,551 321,951
1947 64,560 66,143 362,880
1948 66,373 67,676 367,627
The statistics for 1948 disclose the following details:—
A record was again established in the number of calls answered by the accident
section; the previous record set up in 1947 being exceeded by nearly 1,800. This
increase was mainly due to calls for the delivery of analgesia apparatus to women
being confined at home. There was also an increase in the number of cases of sudden
illness and accidents in the street and elsewhere. The number of maternity cases
D
Visits by
other
authorities