The sun came out in the Midlands over the August Bank Holiday, but while the barbecues came out for some of us, hundreds of ambulance staff provided essential care and saved lives.
West Midlands Ambulance Service received 11,639 calls over the four day period, 5% more than the same period last year, with the biggest increases coming in Staffordshire (+8%), Birmingham (+7.5%) and Worcestershire (+6.9%). Shropshire, however, was the exception and came down 1.4%. The high temperatures saw some extreme figures coming in on individual days too, with Herefordshire showing a 35.6% increase from Bank Holiday Monday the previous year, and Friday giving the Black Country a 4.3% rise from 2015.
Emergency Services Director, Craig Cooke, said: “I would like to thank all of our staff who worked so hard over the Bank Holiday weekend. When many of us were enjoying time with friends, family and enjoying a few days off, our staff were working day and night to ensure people had the highest levels of clinical care when they needed it most. Given the expectation of high demand, we planned well and that ensured we were able to deal with patients in a timely manner. I would like to particularly thank the many staff who were prepared to work additional shifts to ensure we had the cover we needed to provide such a high level of service to the people of the West Midlands. As you will have seen via our social media feed, the weekend was not without its disappointments. To yet again have to report staff being attacked whilst trying to help people is extremely troubling. We will be doing everything possible to ensure the perpetrators are charged and hope that the courts will deal with these cases in the toughest possible manner. It is appalling that members of our staff have been left battered, bruised and in fear of harm whilst simply trying to carry out their job.”
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Emergency Call Numbers, Bank Holiday Weekend 2016 (Fri – Mon) |
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|
2016 |
2015 |
% change |
| Birmingham |
2925 |
2721 |
+7.5% |
| Black Country |
2471 |
2328 |
+6.1% |
| Coventry & Warwickshire |
1673 |
1673 Article continues after this message  |
0% |
| Staffordshire |
2224 |
2059 |
+8.0% |
| Herefordshire |
349 |
343 |
+1.7% |
| Shropshire |
704 |
714 |
-1.4% |
| Worcestershire |
995 |
931 |
+6.9% |
