Ambulance leaders discuss future of urgent and emergency care services at ALF

The Ambulance Leadership Forum (ALF) annual conference took place on 18–19 November at the Queens Hotel in Leeds and was attended by over 200 delegates from the UK and overseas. The Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP, formally opened the event welcoming attendees to the ALF dinner and 2014 Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) Outstanding Service Awards with an impassioned speech in which he affirmed his personal commitment to, ‘ensuring that health care should be delivered by an NHS with its roots still firmly grounded on the original principles of the organisation, as set out in 1948.’ Burnham outlined his vision for an integrated health and social care system and stated his belief that the NHS 111 service should be closely aligned with the NHS 999 service.

A central conference theme was the ambulance service's pivotal role in the delivery of urgent care, which has been reflected in its input into the Keogh Urgent and Emergency Care Review. This view was endorsed by Professor Keith Willett, director for acute episodes of care, NHS England, who updated the audience about the review's progress and appealed to the ambulance service to continue to shape and deliver its expanded role in urgent care.