Former Chief Ambulance Officer Mel Walden had run the Alderney Ambulance Service for many years, and says she has tried to work with the States to continue to do so, but to no avail so far.
Pictured: Mel Walden speaking with Alderney States members previously. Her tenure running the Alderney Ambulance Service came to an abrupt end after a review found a number of areas of concern, including alleged faults with a number of pieces of equipment. You can read more about that HERE.
Now the island’s leaders are going to have to debate the future of Alderney’s Ambulance Service which is part funded by the States, and mainly crewed by volunteers.
They had already considered a number of options for the island’s ambulance service following the decision in December last year by Alderney Ambulance Service Ltd (AASL) that it could no longer provide a safe service. Now, the Policy & Finance Committee has asked for business proposals to be drawn up for three models of the Ambulance Service.
The three options are:
- 1. Develop the current temporary States-run service into a permanent stand- alone service for the Island
- 2. Run the ambulance service as an integrated emergency service alongside the Fire Service
- 3. Establish a new company structure to run the ambulance service which would be similar to the approach of AASL until December last year when the Board of that company decided it could not continue
States Members considered six different approaches taking into account service quality, sustainability and cost, with a Stakeholder Group adviseing the States of Alderney that it considers the best option would be number two, the proposed States-run service combined with the Fire Service.
The Stakeholder Group has been working with health practitioners including the Island Medical Centre, the Mignot Memorial Hospital, Police, representatives of the St John Ambulance Service and the Independent Reviewer, Richard Webber.
A detailed report will be brought to a future Policy & Finance Committee meeting for further debate.
Pictured: Alderney’s fleet of ambulance.
James Dent, Alderney’s Chairman of Policy & Finance, said: “The States is determined that the island should have an efficient ambulance service that meets stringent safety standards and the Committee has now asked for detailed proposals before reaching such an important decision.
“Should each of the options be deemed to provide similar levels of safety and efficiency, operating costs will be an important additional consideration.”