A Larrey Society: needed now more than ever

The day in January 2017 when I signed the Companies House paperwork for Larrey Society Limited to be struck off the public register remains the worst disappointment of my 12 years' consulting experience within the ambulance service.

It was my decision alone, but as I had failed to attract a successor once I retired, I had no alternative. Sadly, my fear that it would turn out to be a bad decision has proved right.

The problems the NHS and private companies are facing today are the worst in memory—yet neither the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), nor the Independent Ambulance Association (IAA), have so far shown any serious desire to speak up and be counted.

While the issues remain the same for both public and private sectors, they still obstinately refuse to talk with one another; if it still existed—The Larrey Society—as it was set up to do, would have created the ‘common independent ground’ where customer and provider could debate their shared problems and concerns and then, with a single voice, seek to influence government policy.