Patients receive the highest standards of care despite it being a ‘scarily’ busy Halloween for WMAS

Monday 2nd November 2015 – 6.00am – Murray MacGregor.

There was no time for trick or treating for ambulance staff on Saturday night into Sunday morning after they had a ‘scarily’ busy Halloween.

With call numbers over 25% up on the previous weekend, the additional crews that had been put on shift were kept more than busy answering 999 calls.

Call numbers were above what would have been expected every single hour from 8.00pm through to 5.00am, except for one, 1.00am – 2.00am, where they were about what you would have expected.

For the period 8.00pm – 5.00am:
• Saturday 31st October – Sunday 1st November = 1,439 calls
• Saturday 24th October – Sunday 25th October = 1,143 calls

Here is a breakdown of the actual calls on Halloween against what might have been expected for a normal Saturday night into Sunday morning period:

Hour                                           Actual Call Numbers           Normal Call Numbers
8.00pm – 9.00pm                  173                                            140
9.00pm – 10.00pm                182                                            136
10.00pm – 11.00pm               168                                            125
11.00pm – 12.00am               191                                             110
12.00am – 1.00am                 171                                             130
1.00am – 2.00am                   152                                            155
2.00am – 3.00am                  162                                            125
3.00am – 4.00am                  142                                              90
4.00am – 5.00am                    98                                              70

Emergency Services Director, Craig Cooke, said: “We knew this was likely to be a very busy time for us so we put considerably more ambulances on duty than we would normally have done, but it was still extremely busy for our staff.

“Our staff had to deal with a number of very serious incidents during this period, but did so with care, compassion and tremendous skill.

“I’d also pay tribute to the way they use their skills to ensure patients get the most appropriate treatment for their condition. This ensures only those that need to go to hospital do so, thus reducing pressure on other parts of the heath service.

Trust Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, added: “I’d like to thank all of the staff and volunteers who have worked this weekend for their very considerable efforts dealing with such a large number of 999 calls.

“It is only by everyone pulling together that we have been able to provide the best care possible despite being one of the busiest nights of the year.”

Ends

Our Staff 1

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