Transport Policies

As a private company, it is our responsibility to ensure that all of our company's policies meet the highest standard. As mentioned earlier, we are a member of the National Association of Private Ambulance Services (NAPAS), and they have a Code of Practice which we abide by, as well as abiding by our own regulations related to transport services. Below are some of the policies which we abide by which may interest you.

Staff Standards

As mentioned in the NAPAS Code of Practice 2008-09, we only hire those who show "competence, training, and experience to levels considered necessary for the tasks to be undertaken...". This applies both to our initial hiring process and also to how we choose the staff to undertake a particular job. You can find out more information about the different 'levels' of staff that we have at AWAS on this page.

It is also important to us that our staff receive regular training updates. We have staff training days at least twice annually, to update their knowledge in Manual Handling, Transport Procedures and various other subjects (AED skills, airway management, etc) as part of their Emergency Medical Techinician Qualifications.

Vehicles

We have a wide variety of vehicles available to us, from fully equipped Front Liner Ambulances to Rapid Response Vehicles and everywhere in between. It is our accepted responisiblity to keep these vehicles in a road worthy condition at all times, give them regular maintenance, and to perform regular checks on them. Every single time a vehicle leaves our station, we check all the mechanics from lights to oil to indicators, and ensure that everything is in satisfactory condition.

Infectious Diseases

Our staff are sometimes called upon to transport a patient with an infectious disease. When such a call is made, it is ensured that, wehre practicable, that specific patient will be taken at the end of the day (in cases where a crew is taking more than one patient in their vehicle on the same day), that they will be transported alone (for obvious reasons) and that suitable hygeine procedures will be used. Such procedures include measures such as wearing protective equipment like gloves and aprons at all times, so as to minimise the risk of cross-infection, and giving the vehicle and equipment a full clean-down at the end of the shift. We regularly use a steam cleaner to clean after transporting a patient like this, as there is no better guaruntee of disinfection.

We do, of course, have many other policies in place, and if you ever want more information regarding our policies, please don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We undergo an inspection annually to ensure that we are abiding by all the policies laid out by NAPAS, and as with any other information, should you want to see these certifications in person, or want to know more information regarding them, you need only give us a call.

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