December 31, 2010 12.59 pm This story is over 165 months old

Ambulance services braced for a busy New Year’s Eve

Busy time: The East Midlands Ambulance Service anticipates high demand for ambulance services on New Year’s Eve.

Following an exceptionally busy Christmas period, the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) anticipates that high demand for ambulance services will continue on New Year’s Eve, a night when the service is traditionally very busy.

With levels of emergency calls in December up by over 40% on last year, thanks in part to the bad weather, the added challenges presented by New Year’s Eve will see the service working flat-out on Friday night and through the weekend.

Extra resources are being deployed and ambulance crews will be supported by the provision of food and drinks at strategic locations to allow them to take breaks during shifts.

James Gray, EMAS Medical Director said: “Whilst we don’t want to dissuade anyone from calling 999, the public can really help us by only doing so in the case of a genuine emergency.

“Our priority is to help patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries as quickly as possible. That’s why we ask anyone with less urgent conditions to call NHS Direct for advice on 0845 46 47 or to contact their local GP (or the GP’s out-of-hours service). If a visit to A&E is necessary, we would ask people to consider making their own way there.”

“We have increased our operational resources to help us cope with the predicted upsurge in demand and provide the best service possible to the public over the New Year period.”

“We also have a great team of staff out there day and night providing high quality care to the people of the East Midlands and we would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment.”

Source: East Midlands Ambulance Service