Despite it traditionally being the busiest night of the year, 999 calls were answered and cases responded to more quickly than ever before in the West Midlands.

On New Year’s Eve night, across the region calls were answered in just one second on average with the Trust’s two control rooms, based in Brierley Hill and Stafford, seeing a 3.5% increase in the number of calls received between 7pm on New Year’s Eve and 6am on New Year’s Day. Head of Emergency Operations Centres, Jeremy Brown, said:

“It is testament to my staff that calls were answered incredibly quickly despite this traditionally being our busy night of the year.

“Our staff, both in control and out on the road, have to give up a lot of time with their families at this time of year and I thank them for all of their efforts and dedication.”

In total, the Trust received 2,140 calls during that timeframe, compared to 2,068 the year before. Though there was a fall in the number of calls received on New Year’s Day, down to 4,152 in 2019 compared to 4,442 12-months earlier.

With planning for the festive period having started in the summer, staffing levels were maximised for New Year’s Eve and there were more staff and ambulances out on the roads of the West Midlands than ever before in order to ensure patients continued to receive the very highest standards of care possible. Trust Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, added:

“I am incredibly proud of the way that our control room staff were able to answer calls incredibly quickly on such a busy night, just as they do throughout the rest of the year.

“That, together with the hard work of ambulance staff who were out responding to the calls helped to ensure patients received care as quickly as possible. I would like to thank everyone involved for putting the public before themselves and their families.”