Trust experiences 10% increase in May bank holiday calls

Ambulance staff and volunteers have been praised for their commitment to quality care during another busy bank holiday weekend.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) received more than almost 13,000 (12, 761) emergency calls between 26th – 29th May, 10% more than last year (11,591 calls).

The Trust’s busiest day was Saturday (27th May) which saw control room staff receive more than 3,300 calls regionally, 450 calls more than the same day last year.

Essex was the busiest county in the region, receiving more than 3,700 calls over the four day period, up from 3,390 in 2016.

Kevin Brown, Director of Service Delivery, said: “We continue to experience high levels of demand and this bank holiday weekend was no exception. We responded to some very challenging incidents for our staff.

“However, in the face of this we had prepared and coped well, which is a testament to the hard work and commitment of all of our staff and volunteers across the region whom I would like to thank for their extraordinary ongoing efforts.

“We continue to remind people to only call us in a genuine emergency and to consider the use of GPs, pharmacists, walk in centres, urgent care centres and other forms of self-help.”

County breakdown of calls during bank holiday weekend (compared with last year) and % rise on 2016

Bedfordshire: 1276 (1101) – 15%

Cambridgeshire: 1735 (1601) – 8.3%

Essex: 3703 (3390) – 9.2%

Hertfordshire: 2034 (1801) – 12.9%

Norfolk: 2030 (1866) – 8.8%

Suffolk: 1527 (1334) – 14.4%