The end of an era

A number of factors have led to this decision. We remain very grateful to the people of Ledbury and especially the Round Table who worked so hard to raise the money for the Maverick and its contents.

Ledbury GP Accident Service is a member of BASICS (The British Association for Immediate Care). It is a voluntary organisation that provides a suitably equipped and skilled doctor to a scene of any accident or emergency at the request of the emergency services.

It was first set up in 1982, in very different times, Ledbury Ambulance Station was only in operation from 9am-5pm five days a week. It is now covered seven days a week from 8.30am to midnight.

Not only has the expertise and skills of the paramedics improved but there is additional help from the fast response driver and the air ambulance.

Consequently the need for an emergency doctor has reduced. Our call outs in 1996 were 45 and in the year 2000 were just nine. As Immediate Care doctors we need to maintain a high level of proficiency and expertise to comply with clinical governance. Despite our efforts to keep updated in emergency medicine we quickly become de-skilled as the call outs are so few.

We no longer attend accidents at the request of the Ambulance Service, but we still use the Maverick for general practice work, which does include medical emergencies i.e. heart attacks, cardiac arrests, comas etc and find the emergency equipment within the vehicle invaluable.

Yes the Ledbury GP Accident Service will go, and we have come to the end of an era, but it has provided a vital service to the local community, and has been credited with saving lives and improving the quality of many others.

We have voluntarily given our time and energy to the GP Accident Service. We provide the funding for fuel and maintenance of the Maverick. Its future will be open to public debate, but I believe that it still has a place in general practice as an emergency vehicle.

DR K R CONWAY, St Katherines Surgery, Ledbury.