AMBULANCE SERVICE SAY THANKS FOR SUPPORT

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb) would like to thank its staff, the public and voluntary organisations for their support during the recent extreme weather.

Severe weather and road conditions across the South East region have made this week particularly challenging for the Trust.

However, the dedication of SECAmb staff, St John Ambulance, the Red Cross and other local voluntary organisations such as 4×4 clubs, along with assistance from helpful members of the public, have meant the Trust has been able to deliver a safe and as swift a service as possible in challenging circumstances.

SECAmb staff have worked around the clock, and often above and beyond the call of duty, during the extreme weather to ensure that patients received our help as quickly as possible. Many have offered to work additional shifts and have braved snow and ice to ensure they were available to respond to the needs of patients.

Some staff have stayed overnight close to where they work in order to keep driving distances to a minimum and the Trust’s teams of voluntary Community Responders have continued to provide vital additional support across the Trust’s Sussex, Surrey and Kent region. SECAmb would also like to thank its fellow emergency service partners for the additional support they have provided.

Examples of dedication include:

* Two members of the public in Caterham, Surrey, used their 4×4 vehicle to help a SECAmb crew reach a patient. They also spent more than four hours towing people’s cars out of thick snow.

* ‘South East 4×4 Response’ volunteers ferried emergency control room staff to and from one of SECAmb’s Emergency Dispatch Centres in Banstead, Surrey so they were available to answer 999 calls.

* A West Sussex paramedic was snowed in at Hassocks but commandeered his son’s sledge to carry his emergency response bag and was available to provide a first response to any 999 calls in his immediate area.

* There were a number of examples of members of the public  helping to free staff members personal vehicles from the snow  so they could get to work

* A number of staff walked through the snow to start their shifts. One Paramedic walked more than six miles.

* Staff car-shared where driving to work was an option in order to keep journeys to a minimum.

* Many staff with homes close to their place of work offered colleagues a bed for the night and a meal between shifts.

With the possibility of further cold weather during the next week – and with 999 calls to  Emergency Dispatch Centres in Surrey, Sussex and Kent already markedly higher than during the same  period last year – SECAmb has plans in place should the weather worsen again. It will continue to closely monitor the situation and is asking for the public’s continued support by reminding them that they should only call 999 in an emergency.

SECAmb’s Director of Operations Sue Harris said: “The severe weather placed huge pressure on our staff and resources and meant we took longer than usual to respond to some 999 calls.

“We put a number of measures in place to deal with the challenging situation, including securing additional 4 x 4 vehicles from voluntary agencies such as St John Ambulance and local 4×4 clubs.

“We would like to thank every voluntary agency and any member of the public which provided assistance.We are extremely grateful for their support and dedication throughout this difficult time. We’d also like to say a big thank you to all of our staff who did a tremendous job under very difficult circumstances.

“The public can continue to help us by only calling 999 in the event of an emergency – we don’t want to dissuade anyone from calling for our help if they genuinely need it but, if someone’s call is less urgent we would ask people to consider whether they could get support and advice from other NHS providers such as calling NHS Direct or visiting a local NHS walk in centre.”

SECAmb has issued the following advice on when to dial 999 for an ambulance:

If you think a patient is suffering from one of the following you must dial 999 for an ambulance:

* heart attack (e.g. chest pain for more than 15 minutes)
* sudden unexplained shortness of breath
* heavy bleeding
* unconsciousness (even if the patient has regained consciousness)
* traumatic back/spinal/neck pain

You should also call for an ambulance if:

* you think the patient’s illness or injury is life-threatening
* you think the illness or injury may become worse, or even life-threatening on the way to the hospital
* moving the patient/s without skilled people could cause further injury
* the patient needs the skills or equipment of the ambulance service and its personnel
* traffic conditions could cause a delay in getting the person to hospital and time could be critical

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