Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
AGM
To be held on Tuesday 25 September 2007 at 9.30am-10.30am
In the Conference Room at Jenner House, Chippenham
Agenda
1
Welcome and Introduction
Tony FitzSimons
2
Minutes of Previous Meeting, 7 September 2006 *
Tony FitzSimons
3
Overviews from Chief Executive and Director of Finance
Tim Lynch/
Karl Henderson
(i) Presentation of Annual Report - 2006/07
(ii) Year Ahead - 2007/08
4
Open Forum
Tony FitzSimons
5
Close
Tony FitzSimons
* Papers Attached
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Meeting of Great Western Ambulance
Service NHS Trust - AGM
Held on Thursday 7 September 2006 at 2.00pm – 2.30pm
In the Conference Room at Jenner House, Chippenham
Minutes
Present:
John Christensen (in the Chair)
Chris Davidson
Tony FitzSimons
Karl Henderson
John Higginson
Tim Lynch
Liz McLoughlin
Judy Saunders
Steve West
Chair
Non Executive Director
Non Executive Director
Director of Finance
Non Executive Director
Chief Executive
Non Executive Director
Director of HR
Director of Operations
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
GWAS
In attendance:
Deborah Clarke
Avon Sector
Tony Hawkings
Avon Sector
Anne Keat
Wiltshire Sector
Roger Mills
Wiltshire Sector
Mervyn Monks
Wiltshire Sector
GWAS PPI
Forum
GWAS PPI
Forum
GWAS PPI
Forum
GWAS PPI
Forum
GWAS PPI
Forum
Sue Stove
Executive Assistant
GWAS
Leo Doyle
Ossie Rawstorne
Non Executive Director
Clinical Director
GWAS
GWAS
Apologies:
Action
1
Apologies
These were noted.
2
Introduction and Welcome
The Chair introduced himself and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2.1
He formally asked the Chief Executive to thank all the staff who
took part in the demonstrations and presentations in the morning.
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Action
3
4
2.2
He wished to thank to Debbie Pugh-Jones, Communications and
PR Manager, for her work on the Annual Report 2005-06.
2.3
He thanked the volunteers and the public for their involvement and
support for the day.
2.4
The Chief Executive also wished to publicly thank all Great
Western Ambulance Service staff for their help and contributions.
Overview from Chief Executive
3.1
TL updated the AGM on the appointment of the Executive
Directors, who had either already taken up their posts or will be
doing so by the end of October.
3.2
The Executive Team will focus on three key areas:
•
Estates: Reviewing the Trust’s estate, with a view to reducing
the amount of estate held by Great Western Ambulance Service.
•
Communication rooms: There are currently three communication
rooms, which need to be used differently and as a result the
Trust may then need less of them.
•
Workforce: The Trust are developing more Emergency Care
Practitioners (ECPs). Also the implementation of Agenda for
Change (the terms and conditions for NHS staff) will have
repercussions for the Trust.
3.3
TL updated the AGM on the implementation of Call Connect. This
will have a negative impact on performance figures by as much as
20%, due to the way in which response times will be monitored,
once it is implemented.
3.4
The Trust has set up a Performance Improvement Plan to review
how the Trust operates its services for external delivery.
3.5
The Chair acknowledged that there would be problems and issues
for Great Western Ambulance Service to deal with and that
therefore the Trust wants to be open, so that stakeholders can
understand this when working together in the future.
3.6
Finally, TL thanked everyone for their interest in and support for the
day.
Overview from Director of Finance
4.1
The Director of Finance confirmed that it is the responsibility of
Great Western Ambulance Service to undertake and issue the
Annual Report on behalf of the three predecessor Trusts.
4.2
KH briefly outlined the final accounts position of the three
predecessor Trusts summarised in the annual report. KH noted that
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Action
the accounts for the former Wiltshire Ambulance Service are in
draft form, as they have not yet been confirmed and closed by the
external auditors. KH commented that the accounts presented
today are accurate at this point in time, but the final version will
vary slightly as the Wiltshire Sector accounts are completed.
4.3
5
KH then presented an update on the current financial situation.
•
The Executive and Non Executive Directors are in the
process of reviewing services to ensure they are delivered
effectively and cost efficiently.
•
The Trust is actively looking to manage management and
administration costs.
•
The new Trust will take on liability for a deficit of £1.3m, from
the previous three ambulance services, which will increase
to £1.4m when an NHS ‘penalty’ is applied.
•
Further cost pressures will arise during the year as a result
of the merger, for example the Southern Ambulance
College.
•
There will be necessary IT costs incurred in 2006/07 in order
to meet the requirements of ‘Taking Healthcare to the
Patient’ and ‘Call Connect’.
4.4
KH thanked all those members of the public who had made
donations to the Charitable Funds of the three previous Trusts and
confirmed that there is a new Charitable Fund for Great Western
Ambulance Service.
4.5
The final versions of the Annual Reports will be published on the
Trust website.
TL
TL
Open Forum
5.1
Tony Hawkings - Avon Sector PPI: - Do ambulance staff have the
necessary back up when they have to make decisions?
TL acknowledged the point raised and the need of clinical staff for
training and support to help ensure they have appropriate
assessment skills.
5.2
Roger Mills - Gloucestershire Sector PPI: - If a member of the
public makes a call on a mobile phone, does the Service have the
facility to locate the caller?
TL pointed out that this works well in cities, due to the number of
masts. However, Great Western Ambulance Service does not
have the technology to locate callers, but the police do and in an
emergency, the Trust could use their facilities. He also pointed out
that control room staff are very good at talking to callers, asking
them where they are going from / to and what they have seen on
the way e.g. any particular buildings, landmarks.
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Action
6
Close
6.1
It was confirmed that the Board accepted, adopted and approved
the Annual Accounts
6.2
The Chair thanked everyone for coming to the Awareness Day and
the AGM.
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