POOR WEATHER conditions meant ambulance services across the county were called out to more than 20 per cent more incidents this Easter, compared to last year.
Over the four-day holiday, paramedics in Worcestershire attended 1,195 emergency 999 calls, between Friday (March 25) and Monday (March 28), nearly 230 more than last year’s celebrations in April.
Worcestershire would appear to have been hit harder than its neighbouring counties, including Herefordshire and Shropshire, which only saw decreases in the number of ambulances sent out.
Mark Gough, assistant chief ambulance officer, said: “What people won’t expect is that, as a Trust, we start planning for Easter before Christmas.
“A huge amount of preparation and hard work goes into ensuring we have the right number of staff, in the right areas at the right time to cope with the predicted demand we have come to expect during a Bank Holiday weekend.
“While many people enjoyed the four-day Easter break, our staff were working exceptionally hard to ensure patients that needed our help got the highest standards of clinical care in often difficult situations. I would like to say thank you to each and every one of them who has worked so hard.”
