Association of Ambulance Chief Executives cancels ALF 2020 event due to coronavirus
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives has decided to cancel its annual Ambulance Leadership Forum event (ALF 2020) – planned for 17-18 March 2020 – due to the additional pressures that are being placed on the ambulance service by coronavirus and to assist the international effort to contain the spread of the virus.
The smaller meeting for NEDs on Monday 16th will now move to an online format, and participants will be asked to join by video-conference.
The viability of the IRCP meeting scheduled for after ALF is currently being considered.
AACE Managing Director Martin Flaherty OBE said:
Following discussions with chief executives and medical directors from all UK ambulance services we have decided to cancel ALF 2020 to fully support our members by allowing them to remain focused on their operational plans for managing the response to coronavirus. We believe our wider stakeholders will appreciate and understand that this decision will also contribute to the international effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The whole AACE team is obviously disappointed as we had invested a lot of time and effort into our flagship annual event, which contributes greatly to the development of the ambulance sector and was shaping up to be the best ALF yet.
That said, as the standard bearer for the UK ambulance service we must lead by example and we believe that cancelling is the right thing to do. We know that our colleagues across the NHS are experiencing significant additional pressures due to the effects of coronavirus and we are now focusing our efforts on ensuring the ambulance service is fully prepared to help patients affected by this virus.
AACE is writing to all speakers, sponsors and delegates individually to explain the decision and to discuss the best way to handle the administrative issues that will arise as a result of the cancellation.
ALF is the largest annual event in the ambulance service calendar and attracts hundreds of delegates from all over the world, also hosting the International Round Table of Community Paramedicine annual conference as part of its packed agenda.
For any enquiries regarding the cancellation of ALF 2020 please email alf@aace.org.uk.
