NWAS 999 appeal

After an unprecedented weekend of activity, the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust is bracing itself for its busiest month of the year.

With the party season in full flow and Christmas and New Year around the corner, the Trust is expecting the high level of calls it is already receiving to increase and is urging the public to help as much as they can by only using the 999 emergency number in cases of genuine emergencies.

Director of Emergency Services, Derek Cartwright explains: "The weekend of 10 and 11th December saw an incredible amount of 999 calls being made to our call centres, at a level traditionally seen on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day – if the current trend continues in this way, we are going to face our busiest Christmas period ever.

"We cannot stress enough the importance of keeping the 999 number free for genuine medical emergencies. When people are calling us for an aching knee, toothache or cut finger, life-threatening cases are also trying to get through and these are the people who need us the most.

"Ambulance services should not be used as an alternative to GPs if a surgery is closed or as a taxi service to the local A&E unit – those who are able to seek treatment via other means should do so and enable us to get to urgent cases as quickly as possible."

The Ambulance Service is an active supporter of NHS North West's Choose Well campaign, and bears the logo on all its vehicles with straplines such as 'please keep this ambulance free for emergencies'. The campaign's objective is to highlight alternative pathways of care to patients such as NHS Direct, pharmacies, walk-in centres, minor injury units and GPs while explaining that visits to A&E departments and ambulances should be for urgent cases only.

Derek continues, "Ambulance services are not there simply to transport people to a healthcare centre or hospital – our excellent staff are specially trained in dealing with trauma and life-threatening cases and this is where their expertise should be focused on. Heart attacks, strokes and other urgent incidents cannot wait, we need to get to these people as quickly as possible without having to divert from patients who have coughs and colds and other minor ailments that can be easily treated elsewhere.

"If anyone is unsure about the treatment they need, NHS Direct can offer advice on where is the best treatment centre for you."

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