Ambulance UK June 2023

NEWSLINE
WAS
Welsh Ambulance
Service Dementia
Team wins Hero
award
The Welsh Ambulance Service
has won another coveted award
for its work to support dementia
patients.
“People affected by dementia
are supporting and influencing
our dementia work at every
level, from delivering training to
recommending changes to our
environments.
“We could not have achieved this
award and our progress without
the commitment from people
living with dementia, their family
The Welsh Ambulance Service is
recognised as a Dementia Friendly
Organisation by the Alzheimer’s
Society.
If you want to learn more about
the Welsh Ambulance Service’s
dementia work, please contact
the Dementia Team on
amb_mentalhealth@wales.nhs.uk
breathing, as well as people
experiencing the physical and
mental effects of the use of
chemsex-related drugs.
Chemsex is prevalent amongst a
sub-group of London’s LGBTQ+
community, where participants
use drugs such as crystal meth,
mephedrone (known as ‘m-kat’)
and GBL/GHB to prolong sexual
The Trust’s Dementia Team
won the Dementia Hero Award
for Professional Excellence
(Organisation) at the Alzheimer’s
Society Awards 2023.
and carers, volunteers and staff
who support our work.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service
provides a service to over three
million people in Wales, and the
LAS
London paramedics
to help reduce risks
of chemsex
encounters.
It presents a range of health risks
including substance intoxication,
sexually transmitted infections
(STIs), trauma, problematic
The Dementia Hero Awards
celebrate the involvement and
participation of people affected by
dementia and the impact they have
for others living with the condition.
Alison Johnstone, the Trust’s
Programme Manager for
Dementia, said: “We are
overwhelmed to be recognised
for our co-production approach to
dementia.
“We have an exciting programme
based around the needs
and rights of people living
with dementia, and we have
a continuous engagement
approach to our work to provide
better patient outcomes and
experiences.
World Health Organisation states
that dementia continues to be
one of the 21st century’s biggest
healthcare challenge.
Last year, the Dementia Team
started piloting 20 Reminiscence
Therapy Interactive Activities
(RITA) tablets in Wales and were
crowned winners of the most
innovative use of RITA for 2022 at
the RITA User Group Conference
and Awards.
And last month, the Trust unveiled
new high-tech Non-Emergency
Patient Transport Service vehicles,
which boast dementia-friendly
flooring, blinds and colour
schemes to help improve patient
experience.
London Ambulance Service is
introducing measures to reduce
the risk of harm for people who
engage in “chemsex” as new
data shows that paramedics
treat an average of one person
a day from the effects of ‘hookup
drugs’.
The data collated by London
Ambulance Service (LAS)
estimates that, since January
2021, paramedics in the capital
have treated at least 764 people
from intoxication from substances
associated with “chemsex”, such
as crystal meth or mephodrone.*
This includes people suffering
from drug-induced psychoses,
overdoses and difficulty in
drug use, and even death from
overdose.
The growing popularity of the
phenomenon in the capital has
prompted London Ambulance
Service to partner with LGBTQ+
voluntary sector agency Gay
Men’s Health Collective to roll out
non-judgemental harm-reduction
measures.
Peter Kingsley, LAS Advanced
Paramedic, who is leading the
project, said:
“Chemsex is a secret world. The
people we care for following a
chemsex incident often lead very
conventional lives outside of these
meet-ups and don’t disclose
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