• ‘NTL Mobilise' chosen for Surrey A&E ambulance fleet
• Customised solution to suit exact requirements, plus automatic vehicle location
• Transferable to new national digital radio network

NTL's Public Safety group, which provides communications support services to 65% of the UK ambulance sector, has been chosen by Surrey Ambulance Service to install and maintain NTL's mobile data system in 89 frontline vehicles plus Automatic Vehicle Location in 10 officers' cars.  The system will be fully integrated into the existing county-wide analogue radio and control room operations.  It will also be readily transferable to the new digital network being planned for the ambulance service nation-wide through the Ambulance Radio Re-procurement Project from the NHSIA.

NTL Mobilise is an easy-to-use and effective way of despatching paramedics to the scene of an incident by means of data rather than voice communication.  The system works on the basis that if crews are outside their vehicles, they are automatically paged and can acknowledge messages back to the control room via their radio handsets.  Surrey Ambulance has, in this instance, chosen a paging option which is intialised at the same time the mobilisation message is sent from control, providing a more cost-effective unidirectional solution for this aspect of the system.  The user-friendly vehicle terminals provide pre-programmed standard responses and hospital lists to enable crews to report their movements quickly and accurately while on the move.  Surrey has also chosen the optional Automatic Vehicle Location facility to provide accurate positioning information at all times in order for control room staff to view and mobilise the nearest resource to the incident.

The NTL Mobilise solution is also interfaced with the VDO satellite navigation system currently employed by Surrey Ambulance to guide paramedics to the scene of an incident.  By interfacing mobile data to this system, co-ordinate information is automatically passed directly to the unit without intervention by the paramedic, saving more precious time.

Gary Butson, Operations Director at Surrey Ambulance, is enthusiastic about the system: "Our initial response to emergency calls is clearly vital to the entire A&E function so we are very keen to use a reliable data system in preference to voice communication.  NTL has a proven track record in this field and its Mobilise product offers us just what we need right now and has the flexibility to cope with likely future requirements.  Crews are very positive and enthusiastic about the change from voice to mobile data and, through the trial we had running with ntl, find it easy to use.  We look forward with partnering ntl on this project and the benefits it will bring to both Surrey Ambulance Trust and the Surrey public."

Murray Barker, Strategy Development Manager in NTL's Public Safety group, adds: "Mobile data is a faster and more accurate means of communicating vital information to paramedics when called to an incident.  The Mobilise system has been developed in conjunction with experienced ambulance personnel and is fully scalable to suit varying demands.  We have made sure the application software, while being as generic as possible, takes into account the individual needs of each Trust.  We are also assuring all customers that it will work over existing analogue radio systems and the forthcoming national digital network, thanks to tour extensive involvement with both systems."

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