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Insufficient ambulances for CWAC

2nd April 2022 @ 6:06am – by Webteam
Back home > News > Insufficient ambulances for CWAC
screenshot ambulance

Emergency services chief says 999 services are increasing and there's not enough ambulances.

Councillors have been told that ambulance services are under-resourced in Cheshire West and Chester with just 21 vehicles covering the entire borough. Members of the council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee were told the service had seen unprecedented demand during the Covid pandemic, with 999 calls once again on the rise as cases continue to increase.

Roger Jones, head of emergency services Cheshire and Merseyside Area at North West Ambulance Service, in a presentation to members, said there had been 216,662 calls to the service in Cheshire West and Chester between April last year and March 14 this year. There had been 26,250 incidents, 1,446 people treated over the phone, 23,000 people treated at the scene and 51,000 people taken to various health facilities.

Councillors were told there were currently 21 ambulances in Cheshire West and Chester and 4 response cars. There are also 18 active community first responders with 7 going through the recruitment process. There had been 30 military personnel assisting until the end of March.

Mr Jones said it had been the busiest period in his 35-year career, with calls over 30 per cent higher than normal peak times. He admitted that there were times the service was stretched, with a hub being set up so clinical staff could call people who had been waiting for an ambulance, and offer them medical advice.

He said: "There were times when demand far outstripped our resources in order to respond. We're aware sometimes this didn't meet public expectation. When you ring 999 there's the expectation that you'll get an ambulance response, but it's been identified through research that a significant number of patients who access us can be safely managed through other means." He said 999 demand had reduced since January but had started to increase again over the last month to 10 to 20 per cent above what would normally be expected at this time of year.

In reply to questions raised, Mr Jones replied: "We have had an external review of our resource levels against our activity. This looked at activity before Covid 19 and during the last recovery phase as well, it's been identified that we are a service that's under-resourced at this time."

So the message is: – ensure that calling 999 is only for life threatening situations, and that members of the public contact their local councillors and MPs to bring about more funding for additional vehicles and greater recruitment opportunities for such a vital service.

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