Medics under festive pressure

Jan 9 2006 By James Cartledge, Birmingham Mail

PARAMEDICS dealt with a 999 alert every two minutes as they faced "phenomenal" demand over the festive period.

Mercy teams in Staffordshire responded to more than 8,300 calls from Christmas Eve until January 2, with demand reaching a peak over the New Year.

More than 3,200 patients were taken to hospital and crews dealt with an average of 836 calls a day.

Even managers were pushed into front-line paramedic duties to help medics cope with the volume of calls.

Ambulance service chief executive Roger Thayne today hailed the dedication of his staff in making sure the calls were properly dealt with.

"Levels of demand which could have swamped more traditionally organised services were successfully dealt with because of the way we deliver our service," he said.

"Everyone associated with our service played a part in delivering the superb service the people of Staffordshire have come to expect and be proud of."

Full-time paramedic crews were backed up by St John's Ambulance volunteers over Christmas and the New Year. Training courses were also suspended to ensure the maximum number of staff were available to answer 999 calls.