Tuesday 29th March 2016 – 1.00pm – Claire Brown.
Whilst many enjoyed the four-day weekend, our staff pulled out all the stops to respond to people in their hour of need during Easter.
The weather caused chaos for some areas in the West Midlands, with flooded roads, high winds and making driving conditions treacherous. Compared to the Easter period last year, the Trust saw an 11% increase in 999 calls with a total of 12,875 calls answered during the four days.
Staffordshire and Worcestershire saw the biggest rise in calls; over 20% more compared to 2015. In contrast Herefordshire and Shropshire saw a slight decrease.
| 25-28 Mar 16 | 3-6 Apr 15 | % change | |
| Coventry & Warwickshire | 1755 | 1701 | +3.2 |
| Birmingham | 3178 | 2863 | +11 |
| Black Country | 2709 | 2441 | +11 |
| Staffordshire | 2610 | 2136 | +22.2 |
| Herefordshire | 351 | 354 | -0.8 |
| Shropshire | 719 | 740 | -2.8 |
| Worcester | 1195 | 969 | +23.3 |
| Total (inc OOA) | 12875 | 11545 | +11.5 |
Mark Gough, Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer, said: “What people won’t expect is that, as a Trust, we start planning for Easter before Christmas. A huge amount of preparation and hard work goes into ensuring we have the right number of staff, in the right areas at the right time to cope with the predicted demand we have come to expect during a Bank Holiday weekend.
“While many people enjoyed the four-day Easter break, our staff were working exceptionally hard to ensure patients that needed our help got the highest standards of clinical care in often difficult situations. I would like to say thank you to each and every one of them who has worked so hard.”
ENDS