The aim of this study is to determine the requirement for further reform and restructure of the ten ambulance trusts in England. The over-arching question is, should there be a single national ambulance service? The panel examining critical perspectives in emergency services management is extremely relevant to this research project.
I am undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Emergency Services Management. This is the only award of it's kind, specific to the emergency services. The subject of how many ambulances services there should be in England is current and relevant. The Department of Health will advise government on this, questioning the need for further reform. This project will add value to the knowledge and information required to make such decisions.
Key research objectives include:
- To review current literature and practice on the emergency services architecture in the UK and review examples of mergers and re-organisation;
- To specifically investigate the challenges and opportunities identified by the operation of a single Scottish Ambulance and Police Services model;
- To identify best international practice followed by a single delivery model of blue light services; and
- To explore, document and identify feasibility of a single national ambulance service in England;
The epistemology for this study will be realism, as the methods of data collection will be specific to the subject matter. The research is based on organisational context and will investigate how senior leaders feel further collaboration between ambulance trusts and other emergency services could improve delivery of service. Participants will be interviewed and their professional experience and expertise will ensure that the answers given reflect the real world. This will allow me to draw possible conclusions and offer recommendations based on the findings which can be applied at a national level.
As well as semi-structured interviews with both senior leaders and ambulance crews, I will request performance standards, costs, procurement successes and efficacy of the organisations through contacts and colleagues, or if necessary under freedom of information requests. The data collected will be reconstructed from the interview transcripts to identify the themes and linkages emerged by maintaining the integrity of the participants. The data will be compared to identify successes and identify best practice.
