Scottish Ambulance Service
Developing vital skills for the health services
Building on its strengths in health education and research, Glasgow Caledonian University entered into an innovative partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service that will create a new era of skills training and professional development for ambulance staff.
As the frontline of the NHS in Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service provides an emergency ambulance service to a population of over 5 million people serving all of Scotland’s mainland and island communities. Its Patient Transport Service undertakes over 1.6 million journeys every year, ensuring that patients are able to attend hospital appointments. The Scottish Ambulance Service is a Special Health Board which is set national performance targets by the Scottish Government.
Situated in Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Health and Life Sciences, the Scottish Ambulance Academy provides modern lecture theatres, classrooms and syndicate rooms. Fully fitted clinical simulation areas recreate a 16-bed hospital ward and an accident and emergency department. This allows SAS students to learn alongside other health professionals, including nurses and midwives, in a real life clinical environment for the first time. The Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, opened the Scottish Ambulance Academy, which is the only education establishment in the UK to be formally endorsed by the College of Paramedics and is also certified by the Health Professions Council. It offers first class opportunities for learning in an environment that is purpose-built for modern adult education, with the flexibility to meet the current and future needs of Scottish Ambulance Service staff.