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LONDON AMBULANCE SERVICE
during 1954 the directly provided and ancillary services removed more than one
million patients over five and a half million miles, thus setting up another record. The
full significance of the growth of the work represented by these figures can be appreciated
when it is remembered that in 1947, the last complete year before the inception of the
National Health Service, the total number of patients carried, excluding accident and
emergency cases, was 182,206. The increase in the number of patients carried by the
General Section in 1954, as compared with 1953, was 76,603, representing a rise of
10.6 per cent., whilst the increase in the mileage run was 179,114 or 4.9 per cent. These
disproportionate rates of increase are largely accounted for by the extension of the
practice of decentralisation, described later in this report, and by the growing use of
rail transport for long journeys. During 1954, ambulance-train-ambulance arrangements
were made for 5,867 patients and the rail mileage covered was 425,599.
The Accident Section conveyed 82,850 patients in 1954, as compared with 81,800
in 1953, an increase of 1.3 per cent. These figures are analysed in the statistical tables on
pages 81 and 82.
Many calls for emergency ambulances are received in the control room at headquarters
in circumstances in which it is clear that medical assistance, rather than ambulance
transport, is required and in such cases the caller is advised to summon the patient's own
general practitioner or is given particulars of other local medical practitioners who may
be called upon; 2,126 such calls were dealt with in 1954.
On 1st October, the responsibility was undertaken for providing transport required
by the mental welfare officers.
Ancillary services
During the year the Ambulance Department of the Joint Committee of the Order
of St. John of Jerusalem and the British Red Cross Society removed, on behalf of the
Council, 17,493 patients over a distance of 371,372 miles, an increase over the previous
year of 14.5 per cent. in the number of patients and 16 per cent. in the number of miles.
The work undertaken by the Department, especially on the longer journeys, affords an
appreciable measure of relief to the directly provided service and, again, I would like to
place on record my very warm appreciation of the willing co-operation which is
invariably shewn by the Department and of the excellent relations which have continued
to exist between the Director and his staff on the one hand and the London Ambulance
Service on the other.
Joint
mittee of the
Order of St.
John of Jerusalem
and the
British Red
Cross Society
During the year the Hospital Car Service carried, on behalf of the Council, 125,352
patients over 1,320,582 miles as compared with 131,763 patients conveyed over 1,424,788
miles in 1953. Closer integration of the directly provided service with the Hospital Car
Service was achieved during the year by strengthening the liaison between the superintendents
of the general section ambulance stations and the area officers of the Hospital
Car Service. This has enabled the interchange and combination of certain orders to be
effected locally without reference to headquarters, so economising in both vehicles and
staff. The Hospital Car Service has continued to make a valuable contribution to the
work of the service as a whole and I am indeed grateful for the help and co-operation
received from the County Organiser and her staff.
Hospital Car
Service
There was no change during the year in the standing arrangement between the
Council and the West Ham Borough Council whereby the latter undertakes, on behalf
of the Council, to provide ambulance services in the two parts of the Metropolitan
Boroueh of Woolwich which he North of the River Thames.
Arrangements
in North
Woolwich
The ever-growing demand upon the service has constituted a challenge to administrative
and operative staff alike and has been largely met by the development of the
practice of decentralisation. This takes two forms : by the end of the year 66 major
hospitals and clinics were passing all transport orders for in-county removals, other
than those for infectious or mentally ill patients, directly to the appropriate local general
77
Decentralisation