Services
The Welsh Ambulance Service provides:
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - This service responds to emergency 999 calls and GP's urgent calls. A standard crew combination for this service would normally consist of a Paramedic and an Emergency Medical Technician. However double Paramedic / double Technician crews are not uncommon. As of 2013, the majority of the EMS fleet consists of Wilker Mercedes Benz 519 Sprinter Ambulances, And Honda CRV / Ford Focus Rapid Response Vehicles.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) - Wales is served by three helicopters operated by Wales Air Ambulance. The service has paramedics and helicopters stationed at Caernarforn, Welshpool and Swansea. Combined, the HEMS units are capable of reaching a critically ill patient anywhere in Wales within 20 minutes of receiving a call. Each helicopter crew consists of a pilot and two critical care Paramedics. The service is charity funded and operated by Bond Air Services but carries the Welsh ambulance service trust logo, equipment and paramedics as part of a joint operation. As of 2012, all three aircraft operated by the charity are Eurocopter EC135's
Patient Care Services (PCS) - This service deals with the planned care aspect of ambulance work. PCS staff usually provide transport between home and healthcare facilities or some inter-hospital transfers.
High Dependency Service (HDS) - This new service bridges the gap between PCS and EMS, allowing for patients to be transferred between home and hospital or hospital to hospital while meeting the advanced needs that some of these patients may have (such as oxygen administration and continuous monitoring). HDS ambulance crews may also be allocated to EMS calls at times of high demand and following clinical telephony triage by a nurse or face to face triage by Advanced Paramedic Practitioners or Paramedic Practitioners working from a Rapid Response Vehicle.
Community First Responders (CFR) - CFRs are volunteers from the community trained in basic first aid, oxygen administration and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). They are used by the ambulance service mostly in rural areas to provide basic care, such as Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) before an EMS crew arrives. As CFRs are usually only sent to local calls in specified communities, they often arrive before an EMS ambulance crew, even without the use of blue lights and sirens. Whilst most CFR teams are the sole responsibility of WAST, a number of teams (especially in the county of Powys) are made up of regular divisions from St John Ambulance in Wales.
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