South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Area:	Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of... , Devon Devon Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with... , Dorset Dorset Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974... , Somerset Somerset The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
Population:	2.5 million
Size:	11235 square miles (29,098.5 km²)
Staff:	2,000+
Chief Executive (Chief Ambulance Officer Chief Ambulance Officer In the United Kingdom a Chief Ambulance Officer is the highest ranking, medically qualified officer within a public NHS Trust Ambulance Service or private Ambulance Service.... ):	Ken Wenman
Stations:	65
HQ:	Exeter
Website:

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWAST) is the authority responsible for providing ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

 services for the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

 (NHS) in the English counties of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. The Foundation Trust was authorised on 1 March 2011 by Monitor

Monitor (NHS)

Monitor, also known as the Independent Regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts, is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to regulate NHS Foundation Trusts or Foundation Hospitals - hospitals that have opted out of direct governmental control. The body was established in...

 (the Independent Regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts) to run the ambulance services run previously by the NHS Trust as a result of the merger of the Westcountry and Dorset ambulance services.

It is one of twelve Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services

Emergency medical services

Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...

, receiving direct government funding for its role. There is no charge to patients for use of the service, although costs will be recovered and paid to the ambulance trust in cases of personal injury through the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme.

In 2011 plans were revealed for the merger of the Great Western Ambulance Service

Great Western Ambulance Service

The Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust is a UK National Health Service trust providing emergency and non emergency patient transport services to Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire in the South West England region...

 with South Western Ambulance Service, and staff were asked to accept changes in their pay and conditions.

Divisions & Stations

The trust is split into two divisions: West Division covering Devon and Cornwall including West Divisional HQ, 999 and PTS Control at Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 and East Division covering Somerset and Dorset including East Divisional HQ, 999 and PTS Control at Ringwood

Ringwood

Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....

.

The Trust has 65 ambulance station

Ambulance station

An ambulance station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of ambulance vehicles, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies. Most stations are made up of garage bays or a parking area, normally undercover...

s among the four counties that it serves:

Cornwall

Devon

Dorset

Somerset

Facts and figures

The Trust is one of the largest of the new trusts formed in England in 2006. Within this, it covers 20231 miles (32,558.6 km) of road and 827 miles (1,330.9 km) of coastline. In a year, over 250,000 emergency and urgent calls are received and dealt with.

The Trust provides ambulance services for the Strategic Health Authority NHS South West

NHS South West

NHS South West is a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operates in the South West region, which is coterminous with the local government office region....

. In addition the Trust works with the following Primary Care Trusts

NHS Primary Care Trust

An NHS primary care trust is a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs commission primary, community and secondary care from providers. Until 31 may2011 they also provided community services directly. Collectively PCT are responsible for spending around 80% of the...

 (PCTs) for ambulance matters:

• Cornwall
  • Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
• Devon
  • Devon
  • Plymouth Teaching
  • Torbay
• Somerset
  • Somerset
• Dorset
  • Bournemouth and Poole
  • Dorset

Vehicle Fleet

• 999 Emergency Ambulances  – Renault Master and Mercedes Sprinter.
• Patient Transport Vehicles  – Renault Master.
• Rapid Response Vehicles  – Renault Megane, Renault Scenic and Skoda Scout.
• Rapid Response Motorcycles  – TBC
• Hazardous Area Response Team  – IVECO Daily.
• Duty Officer Cars  – Land Rover Discovery 4 or personal vehicles.
• Pool cars  – Ford Focus Estate, Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Polo.
• Air ambulances  – Eurocopter EC135 (Cornwall Air Ambulance
  Cornwall Air Ambulance
  The Cornwall Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the English county of Cornwall. The helicopter flies approximately 1000 missions per annum, having flown over 20,000 missions. When introduced on 1 April 1987, Cornwall's Air ambulance became the first dedicated Helicopter...
  
  , Devon Air Ambulance (two), and Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance
  Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance
  The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, which uses a helicopter to provide an air ambulance service to the English counties of Dorset and Somerset. The air ambulance came into service in March 2000, following the success of similar schemes, such as Devon Air Ambulance Trust...
  
  )
• Boat  – ALN 043 'Star of Life’ Wave Saver 1000 Class Ambulance Boat

Fire service co-responders

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the counties of Devon and Somerset, including the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay, in South West England...

 and Dorset Fire and Rescue Service

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory Fire and Rescue Service for the area of Dorset, South West England. The Service Headquarters were located in Colliton Park, Dorchester, but as of October 2008 moved to a new purpose built location in Poundbury....

 all work in partnership with South Western Ambulance service to provide emergency medical cover to particular areas of the Trust. These areas, often rural, have been identified as having a greater need for ambulance cover. Many of these areas do not have a local ambulance station. The aim of a co-responder teams is to preserve life until the arrival of either a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) or an ambulance. Co-responder vehicles are equipped with oxygen and automated external defibrillator

Automated external defibrillator

An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...

 (AED) equipment supplied by South Western Ambulance Service.

Cornwall Fire And Rescue Service stations

The four stations that run as co-responders are Helston, Mullion, St. Keverne, and St. Mawes.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service stations

Co-responder stations have got a dedicated vehicle for co-responder calls. The new vehicle known as the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), replaces the fire appliance from going, providing there are enough crew still on duty to allow the fire appliance to remain available.

The 19 stations that run as co-responders are:
Axminster

Axminster

Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of Devon in England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. It has a population of 5,626. The market is still...

,
Chagford

Chagford

Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. It is located off the A382, about 4 miles west of Moretonhampstead. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its...

,
Cheddar

Cheddar

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...

,
Combe Martin

Combe Martin

Combe Martin is a village and civil parish on the North Devon coast about east of Ilfracombe. It is a small seaside resort with a sheltered cove on the edge of the Exmoor National Park...

,
Crediton

Crediton

Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...

,
Dawlish

Dawlish

Dawlish is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon in England, from the county town of Exeter. It has a population of 12,819...

,
Dulverton

Dulverton

Dulverton is a town and civil parish in the heart of West Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town has a population of 1,630. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately north west of Dulverton...

,
Hartland

Hartland, Devon

The town of Hartland, which incorporates the hamlet of Stoke to the west and the village of Meddon in the south, is the most north-westerly settlement in the county of Devon, England....

,
Hatherleigh

Hatherleigh

Hatherleigh is a small market town in west Devon, England.It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for local good causes...

,
Holsworthy

Holsworthy, Devon

Holsworthy is a market town in the north west of Devon, England. It is situated near the county border with Cornwall, and is 9 miles from the coastal resort of Bude. It is on the intersection of the A388 and A3072 roads, and lies on the River Deer, a tributary of the Tamar...

,
Ivybridge

Ivybridge

Ivybridge is a small town and civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Plymouth. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales and lies along the A38 "Devon Expressway" road...

,
Lynton

Lynton

Lynton is a small town in Devon, England. It lies on the northern edge of Exmoor and is located at the top of a gorge above Lynmouth, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway...

,
Moretonhampstead

Moretonhampstead

Moretonhampstead lies on the edge of Dartmoor and is notable for having the longest one-word name of any place in England. The parish church is dedicated to St. Andrew. George Oliver and John Pike Jones , 1828, Exeter: E. Woolmer. Moretonhampstead is twinned with Betton in France.-History:The...

,
Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills , just below Over Stowey...

,
Porlock

Porlock

Porlock is a coastal village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in a deep hollow below Exmoor, west of Minehead. The parish, which includes Hawkcombe and Doverhay, has a population of 1,377....

,
Princetown

Princetown

Princetown is a town situated on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon.In 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, Secretary to the Prince of Wales, leased a large area of moorland from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested...

,
Seaton

Seaton, Devon

Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other. Axmouth and Beer are nearby...

,
Williton

Williton

Williton is a medium-sized village and civil parish in West Somerset, England. It has many of the facilities of a small town, being the administrative centre for the district. Williton is situated at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads...

,
Woolacombe

Woolacombe

Woolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley . The beach, which has Blue Flag and Premier Seaside Beach awards for its cleanliness, water quality and facilities, is long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the...

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service stations

The two stations that run as co-responders are Lyme Regis

Lyme Regis

Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...

 and Beaminster

Beaminster

Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...

.