'Areas of improvement' for ambulance service

Ross Senior shadowed roles at the London Ambulance Service

A Guernsey paramedic has identified "areas of improvement" for the island after spending four days with the "UK's busiest" ambulance service.

Ross Senior, 25, shadowed roles within London Ambulance Service which deploys between 400 and 450 ambulances each day, Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service said.

It said the paramedic worked with London Air Ambulance in February and attended a significant fire at Chiltern Firehouse Hotel, which involved 20 fire engines and 120 firefighters.

"Having exposure to some of these more complex incidents...will help me improve my own practice and ultimately help improve patient care," Mr Senior said.

'Incredibly grateful'

Mr Senior added: "This opportunity has helped me...identify potential areas of improvement for our own service."

The paramedic said on each day he was exposed to "complex medical and trauma incidents" which would be "considered rare" in Guernsey.

"However it is important that we are prepared to respond to serious and complex incidents when they do occur," he added.

"Working in Guernsey, we train for these scenarios, but nothing beats witnessing the real life application of these skills first hand."

6,000 calls a day

The paramedic spent time in the emergency operations centre (EOC), which takes London's 999 calls, and dispatches specialist resources.

Guernsey ambulance said London Ambulance Service was the busiest ambulance trust in the UK, responding to almost as many calls in a day as the island's ambulance service does in a year.

It said London Ambulance Service serves a population of nine million and responds to more than 6,000 calls on a busy day.

Chris Doyle, incident response officer at London Ambulance Service and flight paramedic at London's Air Ambulance, said: "I'm glad the time Ross spent here in London was useful and that we continue to work in partnership to improve patient care in both organisations."