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Foundation Trust
Foundation Trust - Get Involved
.....because it’s your Ambulance
Service
West Midlands Ambulance Service is planning
to become a Foundation Trust. This means that everyone living in
the Region can have a say in how the Service develops. Foundation
Trusts are still part of the NHS and they continue to provide free
care to everyone. They are locally run but have greater freedom
from Central Government.
Our vision for Foundation Trusts status
revolves around two words:
- Community: ensuring that
we develop our service based on the views of the people we
serve
- Quality: delivering more
choice, better facilities and improved services for our
patients
Community
One of the key differences is that
Foundation Trusts are far more accountable to the people and
communities that they serve. In many respects they are similar to
the Co-operative movement; they are membership organisations. In
our case we are looking for at least 2,000 people from across the
Region to join us as a ‘member’. This will rise to 5,000 within two
years. As well as scrutinising our Governance, our members will be
involved in the future development of our services; this could mean
finding different ways to provide that service or helping to
develop completely new ones that benefit our patients. We are
determined that our members will represent the Region by geography,
age, and ethnicity so that we can be sure that we have the best
possible understanding of the area we operate in.
Our staff are our most important asset;
without them, their hard work and dedication, we would not be able
to provide one of the best ambulance services in the country. Under
our plans, our staff will also play a key role in the membership of
the organisation. Foundation Trust status will also allow them to
play a larger role in developing the service. Not only will
clinical excellence and quality remain at the centre of everything
we do, we believe that becoming a Foundation Trust will provide us
with opportunities to develop their skill base as we look to
improve the services we provide.
Quality
Foundation Trusts still have to meet
exacting national standards. We would still be assessed by the Care
Quality Commission (previously the Healthcare Commission) and also
meet the exacting standards set down by the Monitor, the
independent regulator of Foundation Trusts.
If you look at the hospital and mental
health organisations that have become Foundation Trusts, in the
main, they are the highest performing with best clinical standards.
As a Foundation Trust we aim to improve the quality of the service
we provide through more training and development opportunities for
our staff. We believe that Foundation Trust status will give us a
chance to accelerate our progress in achieving the highest quality
standards.
The financial freedoms that becoming a
Foundation Trust brings are undoubtedly important. The move to
longer term planning with our Commissioners, the Primary Care
Trusts, will bring stability and sustainability to the Trust. It
will allow us to work more flexibly, for example, carrying forward
financial surpluses; this will enable us to invest in current and
future services bringing real benefits to patients and staff.