View report page

carrying out its obligations. Grateful thanks are, therefore, extended to the Director of
the Ambulance Department of the Joint Committee of the Order of St. John of
Jerusalem and British Red Cross Society and his staff, and to the County Organizer of
the Hospital Car Service and her staff for their great assistance and willing co-operation
throughout the year. Both services showed increases in the number of patients carried
and miles covered as indicated in the table on page 91.
There is a considerable difference in the mileage run per patient by the two services
because the Ambulance Department of the Joint Committee undertakes the majority
of the long-distance removals necessitated by the patient's medical or psychological
condition, instead of ambulance-train-ambulance journeys, whilst the Hospital Car
Service rarely undertakes a journey exceeding 40 miles.
The arrangements whereby the West Ham County Borough Council undertakes,
on behalf of the Council, the provision of ambulance services in the two parts of
Woolwich lying north of the River Thames, continued throughout 1955.
Visits of
inspection by
the Chairman
of the Health
Committee
During the summer recess the Chairman of the Health Committee, inspected each
of the general section ambulance stations, twelve of the accident section ambulance
stations and the new ambulance Headquarters. She presented Safe Driving awards to
many of the drivers and showed a very keen interest in the welfare of the staff upon
whose smart bearing and alertness she expressed her satisfaction. She also commented
upon the good care taken of the vehicles and equipment and the clean and tidy appearance
of the premises.
Railway
Strike—
29th May/
14th June
The main problems with which the Service was faced during the railway strike
were road traffic congestion and the conveyance over long distances of patients who
normally would have travelled by train.
On 31st May, the day after Whit Monday, when the excellent measures taken by
the police for the control of road traffic were still in an experimental state, the number
of calls on the accident section was 332, the highest for any day during the strike, yet
the average time taken to reach the scene of an emergency was only eight minutes.
Up to 3,000 patients a day were dealt with by the general section and the number of
abnormal delays was very few ; no undue delay occurred in the removal of any urgent
case. A very commendable spirit was shown by the operative staff in overcoming the
difficulties of getting to and from their stations and very little special transport had to
be provided for them.
The conveyance of patients to distant destinations imposed a considerable strain on
the resources of the Service, though this was partially offset by the cessation of requests
from other authorities to meet patients at London railway termini. Many hospital
authorities appreciated the difficulties and showed much consideration by exercising
restraint in their demands. They were also very co-operative in deferring or varying
the dates of patients' journeys to enable long-distance runs to be avoided or combined
with those of other patients.
Long distance removals entailed a great deal of additional work for the control
room staff at Headquarters and several members of the staff voluntarily worked additional
shifts.
Much additional help in carrying out long-distance removals was given by the
Ambulance Department of the Joint Committee of St. John of Jerusalem and British
Red Cross Society and by the Hospital Car Service.
An emergency system was established under which the control room maintained
close liaison with ambulance services in the Home Counties so that any authority
might use spare seats or stretchers in a vehicle of another, including vehicles of more
distant authorities which had occasion to come into the London area. Under these
arrangements, about 11,870 miles were run by vehicles of the London Ambulance
Service and its auxiliary services and about 4,620 miles by those of other authorities.
Major
accidents
The receipt of Ministry of Health Circulars 13/54 and HM(54)51 on the subject of
major accidents led, during the year, to consultations with the Metropolitan Regional
Hospital Boards and Hospital Management Committees as well as with the Police
87
o