Britain: An official handbook > 1993

BRITAIN 1993: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
Wales. Facilities in Scotland are being
expanded to cope with rising demand.
Ambulance and Patient Transport
Services
NHS emergency ambulances are available
free of charge for cases of sudden illness or
collapse, and for doctors’ urgent calls. Rapid
response services, in which paramedics use
cars and motor cycles to reach emergency
cases, have been introduced in a number of
areas, particularly London and other major
cities with areas of high traffic density.
Helicopter ambulances serve many parts of
England and in Scotland an air ambulance
service is available in the islands and the
remoter parts of the mainland.
Non-emergency patient transport services
are available to NHS patients considered by
their doctor (or dentist or midwife) to be
medically unfit to travel by other means. The
principle applied is that each patient should
be able to reach hospital in a reasonable time
and in reasonable comfort, without detriment
to his or her medical condition. In many
areas the ambulance service organises
volunteer drivers to provide a hospital car
service for non-urgent patients.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation begins at the onset of illness or
of injury and continues throughout, with the
aim of helping people to adjust to changes in
lifestyle and to live as normally as possible.
Rehabilitation services are available for
elderly, young, disabled and mentally ill
people, and those with learning disabilities
who need such help to resume life in the
community. These services are offered in
hospitals, centres in the community and in
people’s own homes through co-ordinated
work by a range of professional workers.
Medical services may provide free artificial
limbs and eyes, hearing aids, surgical
supports, wheelchairs, and other appliances.
Following assessment, very severely
physically handicapped patients may be
provided with environmental control
equipment which enables them to operate
devices such as alarm bells, radios and
televisions, telephones, and heating
appliances. Nursing aids may be provided on
loan for use in the home.
Local authorities may provide a range of
facilities to help patients in the transition
from hospital to their own homes. These
include the provision of aids, care from home
helps, and professional help from
occupational therapists and social workers.
Voluntary organisations also provide help,
complementing the work of the statutory
agencies and widening the range of services.
Hospices
A number of hospices provide care for
terminally ill people (including children),
either directly in in-patient or day-care units
or through nursing and other assistance in
the patient’s own home. Control of symptoms
and psychological support for patients and
their families form central features of the
modern hospice movement, which started in
Britain and is now worldwide. Some hospices
are administered entirely by the NHS; the
remainder are run by independent charities,
some receiving support from public funds.
The number of voluntary hospices has more
than doubled in the past ten years; there are
now over 100 in-patient units providing over
1,900 beds, and more than 150 day units
offering some 1,500 places.
The Government is seeking to provide a
level of public funding for the hospice
movement which matches voluntary
donations. In 1992-93, ^3L7 million is being
allocated to health authorities to enable them
to offer increased support to hospices and
similar organisations, while a further £5-5
million has been allocated to enable them to
arrange for drugs to be supplied to hospices
without charge. The National Council for
Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care
Services was launched in February 1992.
Parents and Children
Special preventive services are provided
under the health service to safeguard the
health of expectant mothers and of mothers
with young children. Services include free
dental treatment, dried milk and vitamins;
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