West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service

West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service was formed in 1974, bringing together the individual city services which existed across the county. In 1992, it became an NHS Trust, providing 24-hour emergency and healthcare services to more than 2.1 million people across the region.[1]

WYMAS covered the whole of West Yorkshire, including the cities of Bradford, Leeds, and Wakefield, and the principal towns of Halifax, Huddersfield and Pontefract. In addition, WYMAS' coverage extended into the Craven area of North Yorkshire with ambulance stations at Grassington, Ingleton, Settle and Skipton, covering the western side of North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales. The region included parts of the M1, A1(M), M62, M621 and M606 motorways, and West Yorkshire itself is highly industrial.

Neighbouring ambulance services covered Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

There were 21 ambulance stations situated across the WYMAS operating area.

WYMAS activities were centred on two core activities: Accident & Emergency (A&E)[2] and patient transport services (PTS).[3] Both covered areas far and wide, from the rural areas around Settle and Skipton in the North or the Holmfirth and Honley stations in the South; to the inner city suburbs of busy Leeds and Bradford, and were controlled from a communication centre located at the Service's headquarters at Birkenshaw, south of Bradford.

Behind the scenes, WYMAS had a network of services to provide vital support to those on the frontline, including finance, human resources and occupational health, domestic team and training department.

• Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom