Welsh Ambulance Service to host second virtual Board meeting next week

The Welsh Ambulance Service will host its second virtual public Board meeting next week – and members of the public are invited to participate in a digital first.

Hundreds of people tuned into the Trust’s first digital Board meeting in May, which was hosted on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook.

The Board will convene on the video conferencing platform again next Thursday 25 June, and the public and stakeholders are invited to be part of the virtual audience and pose questions which the Board will answer during the meeting.

Chair Martin Woodford said: “Our first virtual Board meeting was a ‘toe in the water’ experiment because we didn’t know how well the technology would work or what the public interest would be.

“We had 5,500 views on Facebook alone, which was probably more than the total number of people who have physically attended our Board meetings in our whole time as a Trust; it was a real defining moment for us.

“The Covid-19 pandemic means we have to work differently, harnessing technology to make our Board meetings as accessible as possible, and it’s increasingly likely we’ll move to this approach indefinitely, given the engagement we had.

“Engagement is so important to us here at the Welsh Ambulance Service, which is why for our next meeting, we’re also inviting the public to submit questions in advance that the Board will answer in real-time.”

Estelle Hitchon, the Trust’s Director of Partnerships and Engagement, added: “This is a unique opportunity to learn about our direction of travel and to pose a question that we will answer live as part of the session.

“You can ask the Board anything, including about our Covid-19 response, how we spend taxpayer’s money, recruitment plans, equality agenda and much more.

“At every Board meeting, we also hear from a patient, and this time we’re fortunate to be joined by a gentleman who will share his experience of caring for his husband with dementia.”

The Board meeting is on Thursday 25 June from 9.30am; click here to join it via Zoom or watch it live on the Trust’s Facebook page. The agenda will be available on the Trust’s website in the coming days.

You can pre-submit a question by emailing AMB_AskUs@wales.nhs.uk no later than close of play on Tuesday 23 June.