----- Original Message -----
From: "Victor Calland" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 2:34 PM
Subject: Re: Third Watch


The Labour Party has generally been in favour of amalgamating Fire &
Ambulance Services, but appear to be warey of pushing the FBU to a strike
over it.

<MH> i think the ambulance service unions and Unison might have somethingto
say on the subject as well, don't forget those with long memories and/or
long service will remember the pre ?1974 ambulance service , i have no idea
what the RCN or BMA would say

There is a 1% per annum increase in the numbers of housebound elderly, and
this will increase until about 2020 when it will then begin to fall. This
is plaving increasing pressures on the Patient Transport Services and the
Government would like to privatise them to get rid of an uncontrollable
expediture.

<MH> to some extent hey already have - the partnerships between transport
/logistics companies and ambulance trusts when they've been out and
'poached' work  (the pre merger Durham AS / EXEL team that ran PTS for the
RVI in Newcastle u Tyne

 However, current public opinion on the decline of the N.H.S.
precludes them from doing that at the moment.

<MH> i think that would slip by fairly quietly especially as some services
already use private and VAS crews and vehicles for some work

 If you were to be left with
just the Emergency Ambulance Service there is a logic to combining both
ambulance & fire stations.

<MH> or locating them with other health service establishments, there's more
than few ambulance stations in the grounds of hospitals or  were in the
grounds of hospital when they were built (Middlewood and Rotherham for SYAS,
Boston Pilgrim for Lincs).

<MH> or the Staffs AST approach a small number of 'depots' and lots of real
staging points ( i.e. a physical space not just a dot on a map at a lay-by

 Not only would there be a County Ambulance
Headquarters to sell off for the real estate but there would be all the
ambulance stations,

<MH> Ambi HQs could be co-located with other health service facilities

 as the vehicles are rarely in the station and many fire
stations have been built with Government funding to provide extra bays
(covertly to provide a home for Green Goddesses in time of strike).

<MH> but there are periods where there are substantial numbers of vehicles
on stations

 With
computerised pay-rolls one Finance department could easily deal with the
extra workload and combining training facilities would be beneficial and
cost effective too.

<MH> payroll could be handled by the acute trust or the service run by a
number of trusts ( iirc Sheffield even at the height of trust fregmentation
all still used one payroll provider)

Also only one stores department

<MH> stores common with the acute and critical acre in patient environment

 and vehicle workshops.
The Control room would double in size and would still have separate
function desks but inter-service liaison would improve. Ambulance crews
would still need their own officers but at the toip there would only be a
need for one boss, and logically he would have to be a fire-fighter by
training.

<MH> Why? a combined organisation would still be doing a majority of it's
call volume in EMS work

 Small wonder the Ambulance Chief Executives are currently
running in their wheels like hamsters on speed. They just have to show dear
Tony how indispensable they are.

The huge saving in salaries of support workers and the income from sale of
real estate would have a couple of drawbacks however. One would be that
Paramedics would expect the same income as fire-fighters, and same pension
rights too, particularly if they are never on station and good old fireman
Sam is getting his forty winks.

My evidence for this? Nothing published but quite a few confidential
conversations with people in the know. Look at the logic and tell me Labour
haven't though it through.

<MH> Also how about ambulance supertrusts as have been promised in the South
east and as seen to some extent with EMAS especially as there are often
rumours of a Lincolnshire (which merged with south humberside)- EMAS merger
and occaisonal harking back to the old days when there was effectively a
trent region service ( one training school, central purchasing  (all those x
nnn xKY ford transits)


Vic  Calland