London Ambulance Service: Experiences of Greenwich residents in 2022
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The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) invited London based Healthwatch to support the development of the LAS strategy for 2023-28. Healthwatch Greenwich was commissioned by LAS to conduct a mixed methods research project on Greenwich residents experience of the London Ambulance Service over the last 12 months. They spoke to 62 people.
In general, participants were satisfied with the overall level of care received from LAS. This was measured in terms of several factors, including the thoroughness of the assessment received, the friendliness and compassion of staff, the feeling of being listened to, information received explaining stages of care, and satisfaction with treatment or advice. Where participants were unhappy with the service, this was largely due to long or longer than expected response times from medical staff, waiting times for an ambulance or a shortage of available staff.
All interview participants spoke of the kindness and compassion of LAS staff. Participants felt they were treated with respect, that their healthcare concerns were listened to and that this manner of treatment enabled them to feel reassured about their health condition.
The attitude and behaviour of LAS staff members was linked to clarity of communication. Most participants felt informed about decisions being made and understood what the next steps of their care would be.
Most interview participants felt the NHS111 service provided appropriate support for their health and care needs. In particular, participants were satisfied with the service from call handlers, describing them as helpful and understanding, that communication was ‘excellent’ and calls were answered quickly.
The issues that people wanted changed included:
- Accessibility and communication
- Waiting times and a lack of communication
- Offering more choice
- Consistency of clinical assessments
- Better integration with GP services
- Better awareness of local health and care services
- More community engagement
- Access to BSL and foreign language interpreters
- Signposting to non-emergency services