View report page

50
AMBULANCE SERVICE
A.L. Hill. Esq.,
Chief Ambulance Officer
During the year the Service was called upon to deal with
115,257 patients, which necessitated 51,704 journeys and a
mileage of 416,436.
Compared with 1959 these figures show an increase of 467
patients and 3,317 miles with a decrease of 270 journeys.
There were 17,513 patients conveyed to places outside the
Borough, and on these journeys 132,585 miles were travelled.
The number of patients admitted to Hospitals and Nursing
Homes was 9,548 compared with 9,433 the previous year.
An experimental period of six months during which a Leading
Driver was made a temporary Third Officer with special duties,
proved successful and the position was later made permanent.
These duties were directed particularly to the speedy turnround
of ambulances and sitting-case vehicles at local and London
Hospitals. The Third Officer has also been included in the
weekend and evening rota to give officer cover, he has obtained
the Home Office Certificate for Civil Defence Training and has
dealt with the instruction of new entrants to the Service.
Difficulties have been experienced with shortage of staff
during the year due to sickness and resignations. The number of
days lost because of sickness total 879 as compared with 800
during 1959 and 681 in 1958. Twelve men left the Service and
the training of new men took approximately 3 weeks before they
became established apart from a two week delay before the man
was employed.
Conditions on the road are continually deteriorating and
many valuable hours were wasted during a normal week particularly
by vehicles in London.
A team was entered for the Regional First Aid Competition at
Brighton but unfortunately were unsuccessful.
Personnel attended Mayday Hospital voluntarily to watch demonstrations
of the Dunedin Emergency Lung Inflating Bellows and
useful information was gained.
Several organised visits were made to Headquarters Station
among these were the German Local Government Officials and
Sisters from the Staff College for Ward Sisters.
Officers and men were honoured when they were required to
line the route of Her Majesty the Queen during her visit to
Croydon on Wednesday, 2nd November.
For details of journeys, patients, mileage etc. see the Appendix
page 117.