In 1897, the Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) established the first permanent ambulance service in London. The passage of the National Health Service Act in 1946 required the availability of ambulances be accessed by anyone who needed them.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) was created in 1965 when the nine existing services in London united. It was controlled by the South West Thames Regional Health Authority until April 1 2006, when LAS left and became an NHS Trust.
LAS is the emergency service provider in Greater London, London and as considered as the largest medical service provider in UK. Like other ambulance services, LAS does not charge it patients directly because it is funded through the general tax. Meaning to say, the residents, or any UK citizens, can avail freely the services of LAS.
It has more than 5000 staff employed and responds to more than 1.5 million calls for annually, which are received in Waterloo, Lambeth its HQ. The Service is composed of a Chief Executive, a Chairman, 5 LAS Executive Directors and 5 External and Non-external Directors. Both the Chief Executive and the Chief Ambulance Officer are duty-bound to look after the 7 Directorates which are: Accident and Emergency; Communications; Finance and Business; Human Resources; Medical; Patient Transport Services and Technology.
Moreover, LAS adheres to their vision of meeting the needs of the public and all patients with staff who are well trained, caring, enthusiastic and proud of the job they do. That is why the acknowledged the following values as their core values:
- Clinical Excellence
- Respect and Courtesy
- Integrity
- Teamwork
- Innovation and Flexibility
- Communication
- Accept Responsibility
- Leadership and Direction
