he s probably not even aware of what he was getting involved in at that particular time. he also told us he had been asked to pick up covid positive patients but refused. however, a separate taxi company in great yarmouth has a different view. if they phone up for a taxi to take somebody from home to an a&e department, nine times out of ten, that s a quicker option than an ambulance, so we are more than happy to help out. nhs england told us these figures account forjust 0.3% of ambulance call outs. emergency ambulances are sent to life threatening calls, and taxis are only used to transport other patients when it is clinically appropriate. while the welsh ambulance service added, a taxi is only used for red calls after an ambulance resource has arrived at the scene and clinically assessed the patient. i was gobsmacked, really, to think, in this day and age, they are using taxis to transport emergency cases to hospital like that. if that s the only resource
it s very unfair on the customer who needs to get to the hospital. it s also extremely unfair on the driver, because he has no training to deal with that sort of situation. he s a self employed taxi driver whose only training is to drive a car. he s got no first aid training, no emergency medical treatment training. he s probably not even aware of what he was getting involved in at that particular time. he also told us he had been asked to pick up covid positive patients but refused. however, a separate taxi company in great yarmouth has a different view. if they phone up for a taxi to take somebody from home to an a&e department, nine times out of ten, that s a quicker option than an ambulance, so we are more than happy to help out. nhs england told us these figures account forjust 0.3% of ambulance call outs. emergency ambulances are sent to life threatening calls, and taxis are only used to transport other patients when it is clinically appropriate.
of ambulance call outs. emergency ambulances are sent to life threatening calls, and taxis are only used to transport other patients when it is clinically appropriate. while the welsh ambulance service added, a taxi is only used for red calls after an ambulance resource has arrived at the scene and clinically assessed the patient. i was gobsmacked, really, to think, in this day and age, they are using taxis to transport emergency cases to hospital like that. if that s the only resource that they have got now, yeah, it s not great at all, is it? as services are stretched, prioritising ambulances for the most life threatening patients is important, but those like andrew are worried that even if it is assessed as being safe, there should be enough resources to send to any case that is classed as urgent. nikki fox, bbc news.
Organisers behind the non-political community campaign to Save the Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) in Monmouth have confirmed they are continuing the fight despite the insistence from the Welsh Ambulance service trust (WAST) CEO Jason Killens that it is the best interest of the area to remove it.