Great Western Ambulance Service

Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) was a National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services trust in the United Kingdom, providing emergency and non-emergency patient transport services to Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

History

GWAS was formed on 1 April 2006 by the merger of the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. This followed a period of review and consultation during 2005, including a full public consultation on proposals to merge the three services. The merger was intended to improve patient care by bringing together best practice from across the three services and to provide financial savings through economies of scale.

Services

GWAS provided emergency medical services to a population of approximately 2.5 million people. The trust responded to emergency 999 calls and provided urgent care for patients who could not travel by any other means. It also provided non-emergency patient transport services for patients needing to travel to and from hospital appointments.

Operations

The trust operated from a number of ambulance stations across its area. It also operated a number of community responder schemes, where volunteers were trained to respond to emergency calls in their local area.

Dissolution

On 1 February 2013, GWAS ceased to exist as a separate entity, and its operations were merged into the South Western Ambulance Service.

See also

• Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
• List of NHS trusts