Olympics 2012

Preparing for the Olympics

The Olympics are less than a year away and Medical Services is preparing for the added pressures that the biggest sporting event in the world will bring to London.

Medical Services provides patient transport services to both the Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust and Newham University Hospital NHS Trust, the closest hospitals to the Olympics site, in addition to transfers across the city. Traffic near the Olympic Park and indeed across all of London will likely be extremely congested and challenging.  We are committed to working to ensure that our services continue as uninterrupted as possible for patients and hospitals and have actively taken a number of initiatives to help reduce the inevitable disruptions.                                                         

Bus Lanes

Currently ambulances and patient transport vehicles are not permitted to use the bus lanes in London. Current information being provided to us is that congestion in London around events is expected to be severe.

Medical Services is actively lobbying the Department of Health, Department of Transport, NHS London, Transport for London, the Mayor’s Office and the Government Olympic Executive in order to secure access to the bus lanes during the Olympics.

Olympic Route Network

We have formally objected to proposals on traffic management measures aournd the Olympic Route Network because we feel that the needs of patients and vulnerable people travelling through these access points has not been adequately addressed. We are using this opportunity to further press our case regarding the bus lanes.

Mobile Networks

There has been concern that there may be capacity issues with mobile networks in East London during the Olympics as an influx of participants use their phones and networked devices to share their experiences. Medical Services relies heavily on mobile Sims as part our mobile voice and data platform, sending patient information to crews in the field, tracking vehicles, the same Geo fencing that Ambulance Trusts use, and of course regular mobile phones. Medical Services met with our mobile provider in September to discuss resilience procedures and to outline the precautions that have taken to ensure service continues as uninterrupted as possible.

Relocating Services

Two of our main stations will be directly affected by the added traffic and Olympics-only lanes so we are seeking out alternative arrangements to keep vehicles at other sites, moving staff as required and avoiding the most congested areas where possible.

Supporting the NHS

In addition to consulting on actions and issues that may affect our regular day to day service during the Olympics, Medical Services has also been supporting our clients in planning for emergencies.