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SECTION 27: AMBULANCE SERVICE
The organisation of the service up to the 28th March, 1958, provided for the
following division of responsibility:-
Medical Officer of Health - Organisation and administration
Borough Engineer - Provision, maintenance and
manning of vehicles.
Chief Officer, Fire Brigade - Operational control of
ambulances.
From the 29th March, 1958, the Central Ambulance Station came into operation
and all vehicles and personnel were transferred to this Central Ambulanoe Station which
forms part of the Council's main Transport Depot at Salmen Road, Plaistow, E.13.
From that date onwards the responsibility from the servioe has been divided as follows:-
Medioal Offioer of Health - Organisation and administration,
and operational control of
ambulances and sitting-case
vehicles.
Borough Engineer - Provision, maintenance and
manning of vehicles.
Although the Chief Officer of the Fire Brigade no longer has responsibility
for the operational control of ambulances, there nevertheless still exists a very
high degree of co-operation between the two services, and the control rooms of both
services are linked by a direot telephone line.
The operational control and the general working arrangements of the Ambulance
Depot are the responsibility Of the Ambulance Officer assisted by a Deputy Ambulance
Officer. The control room is manned 24 hours a day right throughout the year by a
staff of 5 Clerk/Telephonists working on a shift basis. Relief control room staff
are provided from selected and specially trained ambulance crews. The Ambulance
Offioer is responsible to the Medical Offioer of Health for the day to day operation
of the servioe, and the keeping of the appropriate records.
The vehicles in operation are as follows:-
Ambulances - 10 and 1 reserve vehiole.
Ambulanoe Cars - 10 and an 8-seater sitting
case vehicle.
The following types of calls are dealt with by the Ambulanoe Service:-
Emergenoy calls
Hospital admissions and discharges
Out-patient treatment at hospitals
and cliuios
Infeotious cases exoluding smallpox
and typhus
Mentally ill persons
Maternity cases
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