Heat leads to 7,500 ambulance calls in three days

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THE WEEKEND'S heatwave led to West Midlands Ambulance Service having its busiest time in the last three months.

The service responded to around 2,500 everyday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (May 25, 26 and 27).

Of those, 20.4 per cent of the calls on Friday were from the West Mercia area, with 31.3 per cent of them being from there on Saturday - three times more than Birmingham on that day.

And there was no let up on Sunday (May 27), when, between 8pm and 9pm, the service dealt with 213 calls, making it busier than the average hour over new year.

Among the reasons for call-outs were people suffering chest pains and breathing difficulties, along with calls relating to alcohol-influenced incidents, such as assaults and irresponsible behaviour.

Mark Gough, the service's Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer, urged residents to think carefully about whether they needed to call 999.

“The ambulance service is there for life-threatening conditions and emergencies such as choking, chest pain, a stroke, serious blood loss or a state of unconsciousness, but inappropriate calling can delay our response to those in genuine need.

“The more minor cases can be treated quickly and effectively by other areas of the NHS such as NHS Direct, a local pharmacy, walk-in centre or GP who all operate an out-of-hours service,” he added.

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