Making every minute count: London Ambulance Service wins HSJ award

London Ambulance Service has won a prestigious 2025 Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award for an initiative that helps crews get on the road faster at the start of their shift.

The  ‘Start of Shift’ project makes it easier for colleagues to gather essential equipment – like body worn cameras and personal protective equipment, and to sign out drug supplies. The changes have led to faster departure times and happier crews.

Early results are impressive. Following the implementation of the project across ambulance stations, crews have saved around 8 minutes at the start of the shift.

That adds up to thousands of hours a year saved with crews being available to respond to emergencies sooner at the start of each shift.

Senior Improvement Advisor and Paramedic Carolyn Slater, who helped create the project, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award and all the teams involved in this work are very proud.

“Our project aims to improve the lives of our incredible crews and ensure that Londoners can get the best care. Scaled across London, these changes free up more time for our crews to spend with patients and respond to life-threatening emergencies sooner.

“Innovations like this have the potential to save thousands of hours a year, improve staff morale and save lives.”

The ‘Start of Shift’ Project – which won the Staff Wellbeing Award – followed the Service’s decision to introduce a Quality Improvement (QI) programme to improve how the organise works.

QI is a programme of work that empowers staff to solve challenges and improve the lives of patients and our people.

This project was the Service’s first trust-wide QI project. The initiative brought teams together to observe how crews gather equipment at ambulance stations and introduced changes to reduce the time it takes for paramedics to get out on the road.

Following the trial, 73 per cent of staff reported improved wellbeing as shift starts are less stressful. They said it allowed them to focus on delivering excellent care.

This year’s HSJ Awards attracted more than 1,250 entries from across the health sector. Only 245 projects and individuals reached the final shortlist.

The judging panel included leaders from Government, NHS England and NHS trust chief executives.

If you would like to support ambulance crews and call handlers who are already facing pressure with 999 calls rising, you can grab tickets for the London Ambulance Charity’s first ever Christmas carol service.