A potentially life-saving new partnership is set to speed up the treatment of anyone falling ill on Nottingham’s tram network.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and the city’s tram operator have signed an agreement that will help medics to reach patients sooner whilst reducing disruption on the network.
Mike Mabey, Head of Operations at NET explained: “The welfare of customers is always our number one priority and occasionally this may mean halting a service if a passenger falls ill and needs emergency treatment.
“By adopting an even more coordinated response to emergency situations, we will be able to stop the tram in a way that provides easier access for ambulance crews while, if possible, keeping services running normally.”
Greg Cox, General Manager for the Nottinghamshire Division of EMAS commented: “We are pleased to be working in collaboration with NET to ensure we can get to patients who are using the network in a timely manner.
“The welfare of all of our patients is of paramount importance to us but we want to do this in a way that causes minimal disruption to the network and other road users.
“This will be achieved through clearer communication between NET and our Emergency Operations Centre to determine the exact location of the patient and the preferred places to park our emergency vehicles.
“If it is unavoidable for our emergency vehicles to park on the tramline, our frontline crews perform a risk assessment of the area before they leave their vehicle to attend to a patient.”
The agreement was cemented with the signing of a formal ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ by Mr Cox and Paul Robinson, Director and General Manager of NET operator Keolis Nottingham.
“We’re committed to delivering the best possible service to customers, and we’re proud to be working in partnership with EMAS on this initiative that also has the potential to save lives,” added Mr Robinson.