BOSSES DEFEND SCHEME; No risk for 999 calls.Byline: By MARIE Marie (mərē`), 1875–1938, queen of Romania, consort of Ferdinand. The daughter of Alfred, duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, she was the granddaughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia and of Queen Victoria of England. LEVY TEESSIDE'S ambulance service today defended plans to answer more emergency calls with one-person crews. From next April ambulance trusts will be expected to respond to 75% of serious emergencieswithin eight minutes of receiving 999 calls. Health Minister Ben Bradshaw Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960 in London) is a British politician and the Labour Member of Parliament for Exeter The Minister of State in the Department of Health and Minister for the South West was one of the first openly gay MPs. wants to free up resources by increasing the use of solo-responders for emergency calls instead of double crews. The North East Ambulance Service The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in North East England, covering the counties of County Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear and the boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and (NEAS NEAS North East Ambulance Service (Northumbria, UK) NEAS National Engineering Aptitude Search NEAS National ELT Accreditation Scheme Limited (Australia) NEAS Near East Archaeological Society ) which covers Teesside has confirmed that it is among the trusts hoping to introduce the one-person crews. It claims the move will save lives as fast response vehicles can often get to the scene quicker than traditional ambulances. But unions have warned the changes could put patients at risk. Eddie Dryden, chair of Middlesbrough Council's Health Scrutiny Committee said: "This does not sound like a positive move. "There's some obvious problems with having just a solo-responder that may have implications for the people receiving the service. "This could impact on patient safety or on the safety of ambulance staff themselves." Jonathan Fox For Jonathan Fox of the University of California at Santa Cruz, see . Jonathan Fox is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. , from the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, said: "We are already hearing of solo-responders transporting patients, but that is not right as you cannot manage the patient if you are driving. "Solo-responders have their place, but the emphasis now is on hitting the eight-minute target rather thanwhat is happening once you are there." An NEAS spokeswoman said: "Changing the way we measure response times to emergency calls will save lives. Implementing 'call connect', where the clock start time is taken fromthe moment an emergency call is connected to the ambulance control room, will result in shorter waits for 999 calls to be answered and ambulances dispatched more quickly. "One key change is around vehicle deployment, we are implementing a front-loaded model, where a single responder might be sent rather than double-crewed ambulance to some calls, based on the needs of the patient, which will free up resources for other calls and help to optimise performance. "The front-loaded model does not present a risk to patients. Fast response vehicles can often get to the scene quicker than traditional ambulances, and can provide assessment and care until a further response arrives." CAPTION(S): This does not sound like a positive move - Cllr Eddie Dryden, left; EMERGENCY RESPONSE: An ambulance overtakes traffic on Marton Road |
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