Medic’s plea to public over when to make 999 calls

A BURTON paramedic working nine hours without a break and taking hours to reach stricken patients has urged to people to only call 999 in a genuine emergency.

The plea from West Midlands Ambulance Service worker Nicola Griffiths, who covers towns including Burton and Uttoxeter, comes as the service is coming under intense pressure.

In a Facebook post, Nicola said: ““We really cannot understand the sheer volume of calls we are getting. Some are not an emergency, and while we are dealing with these jobs the real emergencies are being kept waiting.”

She added: “We know GPS are a nightmare to get through to, to speak to, or to see face-to-face but please try. We know that the wait for referrals and surgeries are ridiculous and not acceptable.

“We really need your help and support at the moment. We are all being run into the ground. For my last four shifts we didn’t get a break until nine hours into the shift and we even offered to work through our breaks so as not to keep people waiting.

“We are getting to people who have been waiting hours lying stuck on the floor and saying sorry to them and that just isn’t good enough. These are normally elderly people. They were the backbone of this country.

Those that never moan or like to disturb us but genuinely need us the most.

“We do not know where to turn to for help, most of the country is the same.

“All we can do is keep going, picking up extra shifts to try to get more of us on the road to clear the backlog of calls.

“I feel our community is being let down but we need the community to help and support us. We cannot lose our NHS.

“We have wonderful people in this community - let’s keep looking out for each other.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service ordinarily receives 4,000 calls on a “normal” day. But on Monday it received 6,392 calls and on Tuesday 5,577 calls.

The current crisis is not being helped by busier than usual accident units, repeat 999 calls, and the warm September weather.

An ambulance service spokesman said: “t is taking longer than we would want to get to many patients for which we apologise. Despite this, our staff and volunteers are working tirelessly across the West Midlands to reach patients as quickly as possible.

“If you have called 999 and an ambulance has been arranged for you, please do not call back asking for a time of arrival as this could delay us speaking to another patient who needs our help. Only call back if the patient’s condition worsens or you no longer need our help.”