If you are meeting NWAS at one of their drop-in sessions, you may want to prepare some questions to ask them, and/or provide some thoughts on what you think they should be doing. Here are some possible questions – please adapt any you choose to use, to make it your own. And do ask any other questions you have!!

1. What stage have you got to? Are you asking for initial ideas before working up a proposal? Or is there already a proposal, and if so, what is it?

2. How do you envisage the ambulance provision on Alston Moor being run over the next 10-15 years?

3. How will you ensure adequate training for people living and working on Alston Moor who wish to become EMTs, eCFRs or CFRs?

4. In order for all shifts to be covered, it is obvious that proper remuneration is required, else individuals cannot refuse their paid work at relevant times. How are you going to introduce this?

5. Given the mobile dead spots on Alston Moor, as well as the stress of attending someone with a serious problem in an isolated place on Alston Moor, it is clear that there must always be two crew members on a call-out. I have heard that you are planning single-person working and even currently sometimes our CFRs attend alone. How do you intend to ensure the health and safety of such an individual, and the best provision for the person to whom they are called out?

6. The time delay caused by our ambulance crews being unable to transport someone to hospital is potentially catastrophic. We know there are ambulance delays across the country, but here we are in a position of never being able to transport a patient. A blue-light ambulance takes a minimum 30 minutes to reach a patient in the closest parts of Alston Moor if an ambulance is immediately available. It is often 2-3 hours before a blue-light ambulance arrives. It seems obvious that arrangements must be made to enable blue-light working for our local ambulance. When will this happen? When and how will you introduce blue-light working for our local ambulance?