Thursday, 10th October 2024
A STATEMENT FROM MEMBERS OF THE ‘SAVE ALSTON MOOR’S SERVICES’ CAMPAIGN GROUP



“A story of a community that came together to fight for its ambulance"

Why we started the campaign…

In 2021 the residents of Alston Moor became aware that their Community Ambulance and its dedicated crew of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) were under threat. North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) announced their plans to take away the emergency vehicle and to disband the EMT teams as they (NWAS) are unable to support the group as EMT’s due to the new qualifications and certificates required. Our tight-knit community of around 2,500 people, spread over a beautiful but remote landscape of 80 square miles pulled together to do everything we could to stop this from happening.

A small but determined group of residents formed the group ‘Save Alston Moor’s Services’. Our aim was to keep our residents and visitors as safe as possible and for the medical care available to be the most sophisticated and up to date as possible.

The NHS Ambulance Standards state that the average response time for life-threatening illnesses or injuries (category 1) is seven minutes and emergency call-outs (category 2) 18 minutes. Without an ambulance and EMTs on Alston Moor it takes a MINIMUM of 40 minutes to reach the scene. That time could easily stretch to two hours or more, depending on the weather, traffic and if, through no fault of their own the ambulance sent from Penrith, Carlisle or even as far as Preston and Manchester can't find the location due to their lack of local knowledge.

A Freedom of Information Request submitted to NWAS in 2022 compared NWAS ambulance response times on Alston Moor. The data was requested from 2018 > 2021

• C1 (Life Threatening) 81% of callouts involved the ambulance taking longer than
7 minutes
• C2 (Emergency) 54.3% of callouts involved the ambulance taking longer than
18 minutes
• C3 (Urgent) 5.8% of callouts involved the ambulance taking longer than 120 minutes
• C4 (Non-Urgent) 3.8% of callouts involved the ambulance taking longer than
180 minutes


These figures were presented to NWAS at a meeting at the Town Hall, they did not deny them, they even quoted that they recognised the data as it was NWAS that supplied it.

More than 13 Freedom of Information requests were submitted, most were submitted to NWAS although others were submitted to organisations such as Cumbria Police.

So in a nutshell, that was our challenge…. to save Alston Moor’s Ambulance Service!

This is what we did and what we achieved….

We wrote to:- Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and received a letter of support from him, The County’s Chief Constable, Cumbria County Council, The Bishop of Carlisle, the Bishop of Newcastle, Chair of Eden District Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee and Dr Neil Hudson, our then MP.

• A letter of support was received from Baroness Elizabeth Barth in the House of Lords. Baroness Barker was responding to a letter written to her by a resident of Alston Moor.
• We worked alongside GMB workers’ union who were representing our EMTs. We also liaised with Alston Moor Parish Council and other appropriate organisations.
• A dedicated website was designed and developed to keep the community informed with campaign information and the latest updates. There were also several templates and a list of key contacts available to download. These enabled people to write to decision makers more easily. Additionally, there was access to printable PDFs of the campaign leaflets and posters.
• Frequent activity on social media, mainly Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) throughout the length of the campaign.
• Production of regular update flyers which were distributed around Alston Moor which were paid for by donations from both local residents and visitors to Alston Moor.
• Production of a campaign letter. This was a response to the NWAS letter delivered by Royal Mail to every household. Our follow-up letter was hand-delivered by volunteers to as many households as possible, right across Alston Moor.
• Production of several large campaign banners which were installed in key outdoor locations to ensure maximum exposure which were also paid for by donations from both local residents and visitors to Alston Moor
• An extensive media campaign, including regular press releases. This activity secured regular articles in local newspapers and featured several times on local radio and television. The campaign to save our ambulance was picked up on by the nationals, including The Observer and The Guardian. The ‘I’ newspaper freelance journalist, Paul Gallagher travelled to Alston Moor to meet with members of the campaign group. This meeting resulted in a substantial article in both the newspaper and their website. The campaign was even covered by the New York Times!
• Members of the campaign and AMPC attended Alston Moor Community Ambulance Campaign Working Group meetings, which were eventually chaired by the independent body, Healthwatch.
• Several alternative models were researched and suggested by SAMS to NWAS. These included a model already proving successful in Berwick-upon-Tweed and a model in which a paramedic practitioner would be based at Alston’s GP surgery who could also attend ambulance call-outs, enabling transportation of the patient to hospital if necessary.
• Consistent attendance at local events, including Alston Gala, Alston Agricultural Show and Producers Markets to keep the campaign and the Group's activities in the public eye.
• The campaign secured the full backing of the then Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Borders, Dr Neil Hudson. Several letters were exchanged with him and members of the group and others met with Dr Hudson for an ‘around the table’ discussion in an attempt to move things forward.
• Last but not least, 100s of signatures were collected in the form a petition. This petition called for adequate / improved emergency provision for residents and visitors of Alston Moor. This petition was sent to Dr Hudson.
• These are the major activities undertaken, but the list does not include the numerous acts of help and support given by people on Alston Moor and beyond, throughout the campaign. From writing to key contacts and influencers to displaying a poster in their window or a sticker in their car… they all made a difference to the impact achieved, regardless of the final outcome.

Despite all these actions, regrettably it became necessary for SAMS to engage with Irwin Mitchell LLP, one of the biggest law firms in the country. We felt that the many attempts for meaning dialogues with the decision makers were not making the progress we had hoped for.

Clearly, taking legal action was a huge step for the campaign. Anyone who has made a challenge in the courts will know how arduous the legal system is, especially when disputing an organisation such as NWAS. This action would not have gone ahead if it hadn’t been for the legal aid system, but that in itself proved to be an extremely gruelling and stressful experience for the group’s representative.

Conclusion…
If you have taken the time to read through all the actions that the Save Alston Moor’s Ambulance campaign delivered over the period of nearly three years, then we hope you agree that the campaign and the volunteer campaigners did their utmost and tried every feasible route to ensure a favourable outcome for Alston Moor and its emergency aid provision.

We bitterly regret that ultimately, we didn’t achieve what we set out to, but along the way we gained the support of many, many individuals, groups and organisations.

Opposing an organisation such as NWAS was never going to be easy. They claimed to be acting in our best interests, whilst following national guidelines. However, we believe that Alston Moor is in such a unique location that has dramatically different demographics and populations to urban conurbations such as Carlisle and Blackpool. One size definitely does NOT fit all!

We thank every single person who contributed to the campaign, whether that was financially or with their time, efforts and ideas. The monies the campaign group had left at the end amounted to just over £1000. This money has been transferred to Alston Moor’s Community First Responders and will be spent on essential equipment to enable them to give anyone needing their assistance and support, the best possible care.

It's not entirely clear to us what the future holds for us with regards to emergency care facilities and provision on Alston Moor. As NWAS has told us several times, policies and guidelines are constantly changing and a new government may have different ideas.

If you are unfortunate enough to need to call an ambulance and it does not meet the required attendance time or NWAS does not have the capacity to send an ambulance at all, then please write and complain.

These complaints should be picked up by the Care Quality Commission and questions asked. This website:- 999alstonmoor.com will remain live for the foreseeable future. There you will find advice on who to write to and letter templates which will help to get you started.

We do know that we have lost our ambulance. It is no longer based in Alston. Instead NWAS have given us a rapid response vehicle in appropriate livery. But no blue light. You may have seen it around and about.

We remain sincerely grateful to the men and women who give up their time to respond to the needs of people in the local area when they are needed. We genuinely don’t know what we would do without you.

Signed
Members of the Save Alston Moor’s Services campaign group
Date: 10/10/2024