London Ambulance Service: Experiences of Greenwich residents in 2022
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) invited London based Healthwatch to support the development of the LAS strategy for 2023-28. Healthwatch Greenwich (HWG) were commissioned by LAS to conduct a mixed methods research project on Greenwich residents experience of the London Ambulance Service over the last 12 months.
Findings
What is LAS getting right?
- Amongst survey participants, 40 of 54 (74%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the care they received from LAS. Similarly, two-thirds of survey participants stated that the call they had with LAS was good or very good.
- Where participants were unhappy with the service, this was largely due to long or longer than expected response times from medical staff, waiting times for an ambulance or a shortage of available staff.
- Most participants felt informed about decisions being made and understood what the next steps of their care would be.
- Most interview participants felt the NHS111 service provided appropriate support for their health and care needs. In particular, participants were satisfied with the service from call handlers, describing them as helpful and understanding, that communication was ‘excellent’ and calls were answered quickly.
How can LAS improve emergency care?
- Amongst survey participants that identified as having a disability or long-term condition (27 of 54), the majority were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the care they received from LAS (66%) while a quarter were ‘very dissatisfied’ or ‘dissatisfied’ with the care they received from LAS.
- An interview with a d/Deaf service user highlighted the need to explore barriers and accessibility issues that emerge for 8 those living with a disability or long-term condition, particularly clarity of communication from LAS staff members.
- Amongst survey participants, 28 of 54 called LAS and received an ambulance or emergency response. Of these, 39% felt that the response was ‘a bit too long’ or ‘way too long’, with waiting times ranging between 15 minutes to 7 hours.
Our recommendations
- LAS to offer appropriate communication support for d/Deaf service users, through the provision of BSL/SSE interpreters and increased deaf awareness training for LAS staff members.
- LAS to Increase its visibility in the local community, through outreach events and targeted community engagement.
- LAS to have greater awareness of local health and care service provision, including out-of-hours GPs, pharmacies, urgent care, health centres and informal voluntary sector support.
Provider response
Roger Davidson, Director of Strategy and Transformation at London Ambulance Service said:
“At LAS, we are committed to listening to patients and the public as a fundamental part of our mission to improve standards of care for everyone. London has a hugely diverse population with a wide variety of needs and Healthwatch is uniquely embedded within London communities, so we have been delighted to work with them on this by commissioning engagement reports. The rich insights from their reports will inform the development of our five year strategy and help us to put the people we serve at the heart of all we do.”
Conclusion
Most Greenwich residents who took part in this project were happy with the care provided by LAS and are confident that the service 15 can meet their health and care needs. In particular, the professional attitude of LAS staff, their compassion and kindness, ensured that people felt they were being listened to and involved in decisions about their healthcare. For those who reported a less than satisfactory experience, poor communication was often the main driver. Poor communication from LAS to service users with regards to waiting times, a lack of effective signposting to alternative services, and poor sharing of information between LAS and other parts of the health and care system, created frustration. A lack of provision for service users with additional communication needs, despite the NHS Accessible Information Standard4 , can exacerbate existing health inequalities for those living with a disability or long-term conditions.
Download the full report here
If you need this report in an alternative format, please contact Steve: steve@healthwatchgreenwich.co.uk
