A NEW boss has been appointed to troubleshoot at Wiltshire's zero-star rated ambulance service in a bid to turn around its performance.

The service failed to meet targets set out in a report in March and last month the Commission for Health Improvement took away its two star rating.

Now the trust has reshuffled the management in the hope of improving the service and regaining its rating.

The Wiltshire Ambulance NHS Trust has appointed Tim Skelton, currently director of modernisation and health systems performance at the Strategic Health Authority, to turn around the fortunes of the ambulance service.

The current chief executive Dennis Lauder will move into the role of chief ambulance officer (operations).

"I am really looking forward to the challenge," said Mr Skelton.

"I'm keen to get closer to the sharp end and I feel I can help support staff and lead the organisation to address the areas where it is performing poorly.

"We have a lot of very committed staff, who continue to be highly praised."

Mr Skelton, 54, of Whiteparish near Salisbury, has worked with the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority for a year.

His role involved boosting the performance of the health service, reducing waiting times for patient treatment and working with trusts to improve access to accident and emergency services.

Mr Skelton has instigated major improvements in his year at the SHA, with the number of people across the authority area waiting for operations for more than 12 months reducing from 1,900 in April 2002 to zero in April 2003.

Now he has ambitious plans for the Wiltshire Ambulance Service.

"We should be aiming to regain the two star rating in 12 months time," he said. "Mr Lauder will be responsible for improving operational performance levels.

"I am confident we can work together. We have known each other in our previous roles."

Ambulance trusts are awarded three stars for top performance but Wiltshire and Dorset failed to achieve any star rating and were bottom of the West Country league of trusts.

The commission identified problems with Wiltshire's out of date ambulances, an inadequate radio system which meant crews could not always communicate with the control centre, and the lack of satellite vehicle monitoring systems, all of which contributed to poor performance.

The trust was also criticised after complaints of bullying made by staff.

Mr Skelton wants to meet staff to talk with them about the service and their ideas for improving it.

He said he had three main areas to address.

The first was to boost performance in response times for emergency calls.

He said: "This is a big challenge because it's such a big county. I want to listen to and work with staff because they know the answers as to how we can respond more quickly."

The second area concerns improving the working lives of ambulance service staff, creating a positive environment for recruiting and retaining quality staff.

Mr Skelton will be looking into staff training and development, flexible working and better communication within the organisation.

He said: "I want to make working life more satisfying for staff. That will also affect performance."

The final area Mr Skelton wants to improve is integration of the ambulance service with other NHS providers in Wiltshire, forging better links with accident and emergency departments and GPs.

"It's not helpful to speak of why we are where we are," he said.

"Ambulance trusts have come far more into the spotlight nationally to make a far greater contribution to emergency calls.

"Wiltshire is not alone there are several no star services in the country that require extra support."

Mr Skelton became acting chief executive yesterday and said he had no fixed time period in the new role.

Mr Lauder is on holiday abroad until next week.

Mr Skelton has worked with the health service for 13 years.

Before that his roles included the management of farms for the Co-operative Wholesale Society and running pubs and restaurants for Whitbread.

Zero rating given after staff's bullying claims

WILTSHIRE Ambulance Service received its zero star rating because of its failure to meet targets set out in a report in March.

The service failed to meet the target of answering 75 per cent of emergency calls within eight minutes as set out by the Commission for Health Improvement, The Wiltshire service managed 67 per cent.

The report, published by the commission, said staff had complained of bullying and many did not feel valued or supported.

Morale within the organisation, which employs 300 people at nine stations around the county, was reported to be low and management systems autocratic.

The review, which took place between August 2002 and February 2003, also highlighted shortcomings in the equipment used by Wiltshire Ambulance Service.

It said that the radio system is inadequate meaning ambulance crews can not always communicate with the control centre in an emergency.

And it said that the trust had no accurate way of knowing which ambulance was the closest to an incident because it did not have a modern satellite vehicle monitoring system.

On a positive note the report said the trust's staff were committed and enthusiastic and ambulance crews were well respected by local stakeholders.

Following the publication of the report then chief executive Dennis Lauder said new staff would be recruited to help address the problems.

The new staff would include a human resources manager who staff could raise concerns with in confidence. Satellite vehicle location equipment was to be installed within the next two years time as part of a rolling programme.