South Central Ambulance Service
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire in the South East England region. It is one of 10 Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct government funding for its role. There is no charge to patients for use of the service, and under the Patient's Charter, every person in the United Kingdom has the right to the attendance of an ambulance in an emergency.
Services
In June 2011 it was named England's top performing ambulance service, managing to respond to 77.5% of Cat A calls within the 8 minute target time, compared to the national average of 74.9%.[1] In October 2011 the BBC discovered that SCAS spent more on private ambulance services to cover 999 calls than any other service in the country.[2]
It is the only NHS ambulance organisation in the UK to be supported by its own League of Friends, a registered charity. The South Central Ambulance League of Friends raises funds that are used to enhance the standard of care for patients, provide additional benefits for service personnel, encourage the acquisition of essential life-support skills among the public, and support the deployment of volunteer community first responders. This group had been founded in 1982 to raise funds for the former Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust.[3]
History
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed on 1 July 2006, following the merger of the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust, and part of the Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust. The Trust achieved Foundation status on 1 March 2012, becoming known as South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS).[4]
In October 2013 the trust accidentally published on its website a document listing the age, sexuality and religion of all its 2,826 staff members.[5]
It took over patient transport services in Hampshire in October 2014.[6]
In 2014 the trust held a recruitment drive in Poland to help fill vacancies.[7]
See also
- Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
- NHS ambulance services prior to 2006
- Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance
References
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External links
- South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS)
- South Central Ambulance League of Friends
