London Ambulance: Staff responded to over 10,000 calls last week, 12% rise on last year

(NewsPoint) – Last week London Ambulance Service experienced its busiest week ever for potentially life-threatening incidents with the arrival of colder weather and Christmas celebrations

London Ambulance service staff responded to 9,662 seriously ill and injured patients last week, a 12 per cent rise over last year.

With the busy festive season, the London Ambulance say that demand on the Service has continued to remain high in the last few days.

The Ambulance service say that among the types of calls that they have received, there was an increase patients with breathing problems, chest pains and those who have fallen. Staff have also treated more patients with alcohol-related injuries and illnesses.

Deputy Director of Operations Paul Woodrow said: “The increased demand we’ve seen in the last few weeks and months has made it challenging for us to maintain our normal levels of service, and recent days have been even busier still.

“With the Christmas party season well under way, we are urging people to drink sensibly and responsibly. If you need help for minor illnesses and injuries, please access other, more appropriate, parts of the health service such as pharmacies, walk-in centres or by calling NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

“Anyone who calls us and isn’t in a serious condition may have to wait longer than usual for us to respond, and in some cases will be given clinical advice over the phone, as we have to prioritise our response to those who need immediate help.”

This year will see the continuing use of the Service’s Soho alcohol recovery centre which is open every night with most patients brought in by the alternative response vehicles, dubbed the ‘booze buses’.

The Numbers

- The Service responded to 9,662 Category A (immediately life-threatening) incidents between Monday 10 to Sunday 16 December 2012. This compared to 8,595 incidents between Monday 12 to Sunday 18 December 2011.
- The total of 296,900 Category A incidents attended since the start of the 2012/13 year compares to around 260,800 in the same period in 2011/12 – up by more than 13 per cent. The total number of incidents responded to in the same period has increased by 3.5 per cent.
- The total number of incidents last week was 21,273.
- We treated 4,702 patients who had an alcohol-related injury or illness in December 2011, compared to 4,484 in November 2011.
(Source London Ambulance)