It was a busy weekend for the hard-working staff at West Midlands Ambulance Service with a sharp rise in the number of 999 and 111 calls compared to previous years.

Over the four days of the Christmas Bank Holiday from the 24th to the 27th of December, the Trust took no fewer than 19,078 emergency calls.

This compares to 17,572 for the same dates in 2021 and is equivalent to a 8.6% increase.

There was an even bigger rise in 111 calls taken by the Trust. Over the same four days, call assessors took 20,942 calls which was a 37.7% increase on 2021 where the Trust took 15,213 calls. Trust Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said:

“I would like to thank the many thousands of staff who worked over the Christmas period while most people were enjoying time with their family and friends.

“It is not just the staff on the road who worked so hard; I want to particularly note the work of the staff in our control rooms. 

“These staff are at the forefront of everything that we do, finding out where we are required but also what is wrong with the patient so that our ambulance crews know what they are going into.

“The task at hand for our call handlers and dispatchers is often just as difficult as that experienced by our road staff; they all work exceptionally hard.

“I also want to thank the staff who support these staff, be it the vehicle preparation operatives who clean, fuel and restock the ambulances; the fleet mechanics who make sure we always have ambulances available but also the managers who look after the staff - it is a real team effort.”

If you fancy the challenge of joining such a fantastic team, WMAS are currently recruiting to a range of job roles.

You can find full details at jobs.nhs.uk – positions include vacancies for student paramedics (ref no: 217-C9217-483-22-23).

The public can also play their part to support the NHS this winter by coming forward for their flu and Covid vaccines and using services like NHS 111 online for non-urgent advice.