The hidden heroes of the NHS - The role of ambulance Trusts in keeping patients and systems moving

What role do Ambulance Trusts play in the success of the wider NHS? How might urgent and community care evolve as we head to integration as part of a joined-up system? How will an integrated ambulance service support system redesign to keep people out of hospital, and provide more proactive care to those who need it most?

Helen Ray (Chief Executive of North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust) joins  Tom Clarke (Director, Mtech Access) to discuss the role Ambulance Trusts play in delivering care. This role far exceeds attending 999 calls. We explored the important role Ambulance Trusts play in keeping people out of hospital and in instigating new models of care. They are the first point of contact for many clinical events, both on the ground and through their role in NHS 111.

As such, Ambulance Trusts understand first-hand the real drivers for accessing health services. Helen Ray, as Chief Executive of North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is ideally placed to open a window to their world and explore what a more integrated future may mean for emergency care and the wider health system.

Helen Ray joined North East Ambulance Service in 2019, following 36 years’ experience in various roles across the NHS. Helen was previously Chief Operating Officer at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where she oversaw urgent and emergency care, medicine, child health, and community services with Board level responsibility and emergency planning and preparedness. She has also previously been Joint Managing Executive Director (operations) for North Cumbria acute and community services; Deputy Chief Executive for North Cumbria University Hospitals; and Chief Operating Officer for South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust. She trained as a nurse and has held a professional registration for 30 years.

This episode was first broadcast as a live webinar on Friday 25th June 2021.

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