28/1/12….’Use your ambulance service wisely’ pleads SCAS

WITH winter pressures just around the corner and the Christmas party season traditionally starting in the last weekend in November, Oxfordshire’s ambulance service is asking everyone to please spare a thought for their local ambulance service and the people who need it the most.

In a statement today, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “Mis-use of the ambulance service costs lives. Please only call 999 in the event of a genuine medical emergency such as a serious accident, severe loss of blood, heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, or breathing difficulty. For non life threatening injury or illness, choose well and:

? Call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 (24hrs)
? Call your Out of Hours GP Service
? Consult your local pharmacist
? Go to your local Walk-in-Centre or your Minor Injuries Unit
? Go to your local accident and emergency (A&E) department

The statement continues: “With the party season upon us once again please drink responsibly and ONLY call for an ambulance in the event of a life threatening medical emergency. Between Saturday 26 November and Saturday 17 December 2011, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) received 35389 emergency calls.

“The last Saturday before Christmas is traditionally our busiest night. On Saturday 17 December 2011 we dealt with 1441 calls. That?s 22% more calls
than we attended on an average Saturday in 2011. On an average Saturday in 2011 we attended 1179 calls across the four counties of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire.

“Like all public sector organisations SCAS is under pressure to save money whilst at the same time
continuing to provide the best possible mobile healthcare to those who most need it. With each
incident we attend costing an average of