£2.4m deal keeps ambulances running for another decade

Wednesday 26 September 2018

St John Emergency Ambulance Service will continue to operate Guernsey's blue light ambulance service for 10 more years, now a new agreement with Health & Social Care has been signed.

The two parties have signed a renewal contract, which will be managed by HSC, which provides a 10 year commitment along with a grant of £2,417,567 per year for the service.

This is a planned renewal that is intended to provide continuity of service, while setting out a joint commitment for the future transformation of the emergency road ambulance service following details outlined in HSC’s Partnership of Purpose policy letter.

Although it is a 10 year contract, the deal allows either party to withdraw with 12 month's notice. 

Pictured: The new contract means St John Emergency Ambulance Service will continue responding to 999 calls. 

St John Emergency Ambulance Service said it expects to respond to more than 4,000 calls each year, in addition to the transfer of a similar number of patients to schedules diagnostic and treatment appointments.

As part of this, both parties have committed to working side-by-side on a "programme of change" that will ensure the Emergency Road Ambulance Service is equipped to best meet the changing needs of the community in the long-term.

Pictured: Chief Officer Ali Marquis.

Alison Marquis, [pictured] Chief Officer of the St John Emergency Ambulance Service, said: "Everyone who works for the St John Emergency Ambulance Service considers it an honour to serve and support members of our community, often in their hour of greatest need.

"We wanted to continue serving the community and we’re really pleased that the negotiation process has resulted in a robust contract for the ongoing delivery of our essential services for residents of the Bailiwick. I look forward to working with HSC and other States of Guernsey colleagues to focus on how we transform these services to meet the future needs of islanders."

A recent recommendation made in a review into the Committee for Home Affairs was that the Ambulance and Fire Services should be merged. At a scrutiny hearing earlier this month, Deputy Mary Lowe, President of Home Affairs, said this idea was not something they were pursuing at this time, and would also be a decision for HSC to make.

The contract itself forms what HSC are calling a "crucial part of the ‘Partnership of Purpose’ transformation programme currently underway within HSC". This has been acknowledged by both HSC and St John who have established a strong working relationship, not only to secure this contract, but to start work on making the necessary changes to support our population in the future. 

"Members of our community understandably place a lot of faith and trust in the St John Emergency Ambulance Service, so I am delighted that we have signed this contract well in advance of the current contract expiring at the end of 2018," Deputy Heidi Soulsby, President of HSC, added.

"This agreement is an excellent example of partnership working. The negotiation process has been extremely positive, which was particularly pleasing given how vitally important it is that we are collectively aligned about the need to transform services to meet the changing needs of patients."

Pictured top: One of Guernsey's emergency ambulances.