Consult the workers not insult them

Our jobs could be made so much easier if only the Ambulance service would listen to those in the know. Us. The road staff. After all it is us that have to work with some of these ideas dreamt up by someone in an office who was working for B&Q as a kitchen designer and has absolutely no idea about designing a modern ambulance. I had the pleasure of meeting our Director of Vehicle Procurement (why he needs bird shit and scrambled egg on his shoulders is beyond me) when we took delivery of some new vehicles and unintentionally told him what I thought of his wonderful new ambulance design.

My trust always bought it's ambulances from the now defunct UVM (or UVG when I joined). We use a mixture of Renault van conversions, Mercedes 416 Premia and 515 Modular vehicles. UVM were a coach builder who designed a body to fit a chassis. They had ambulance road staff on the design panel and as they had been building ambulances for a while, they kind of knew what they were doing. Unfortunately they went bust a few years back meaning our vehicles had to be sourced from elsewhere and German manufacturer WAS were given the contract.

When the trust were looking to replace some of the aging ambulances (some were T registered!) a few years ago they set up an "ambulance design workshop". Each station was asked what its staff would like from a new ambulance and were invited to offer design ideas. These ideas would be taken to the manufacturer and submitted to their design consultants and we would get an ambulance that everyone was happy with. Or so we thought.

So the day arrived when the first of our new ambulances was delivered. Like a magpie to a shiny thing I headed over to the truck and slid the side door open to have a look around. After about 30 seconds I slammed the door and shouted across the garage to my crew mate "WHICH DICKHEAD SIGNED OFF THIS HEAP OF SHIT"? From my left came a disappointed "Uh.... that would be me. Are you not happy with it? You've only taken a brief look inside". "It's a shit design" was my reply. And that was the first time I met the Direct of Vehicle Procurement.

After a good 10 minutes I had flagged up so many issues with the design that I was asked to write them all down and submit them officially before any more were delivered. They were all small issues that should never have even been an issue if the trust had listened to the ideas that staff came up with. After meeting with the WAS rep a few weeks later it turns out that the trust had never submitted any of the ideas from road staff. The idiot who designed kitchens for B&Q submitted his own design to WAS and they duly built the design.

I'm sure there are other examples of outsiders coming in and trying to stamp their mark on the service. Unfortunately what might keep some share holders in champagne at the annual Christmas party won’t work when it comes to an emergency service. An ambulance or RRV is our office for 12 hours a day. They are our home away from home.

Please, listen to us for a change.