THE foundations are in place for Great Western Ambulance Service to continue to develop and improve, according to its Annual Review.

The Report recognises the changing nature of the ambulance service, improvements made by GWAS and celebrates the work of its dedicated staff.

Tim Lynch, Chief Executive of GWAS, says in the report: "We have met 37 of 39 Standards for Better Health this year.

"We trained and licensed more paramedics to give thrombolysis and also trained eight new critical care paramedics for our new air ambulance.

"Emergency care practitioners are helping us expand our urgent care services, offering more choice, treatment at home and support for referral.

"Our ECPs, together with our fledgling clinical desks, access to care and out of hours services, are already successfully providing more choice and more appropriate routes to care than admission to hospital."

He added: "Our financial position has been managed prudently. We have ended the year with a surplus of £1.45m, which has enabled us to pay off the debt of our predecessor organisations."

The Report reveals that GWAS attended 216,810 emergency/urgent calls during 2007/08.

Trust Chairman Tony FitzSimons said: "This year our staff have saved more lives, transported more people more quickly, and developed our urgent care services.

"It is our aim at Great Western Ambulance Service that our patients receive the right care at the right time and in the right place."

The report is available for the public to read in libraries, hospitals, local authorities and primary care trusts across the GWAS catchment area, or online at: http://www.gwas.nhs.uk/policies/GWAS Annual review 20072008.pdf