South Central Ambulance help
Volunteers from St John Ambulance
Berkshire have had a busy Christmas and New Year assisting the
South Central NHS Ambulance Service to respond to the
increasingly high volume of calls they have been receiving over the
holiday period.
Slough, Maidenhead and Reading
The first aid charity provided two ambulances crewed by a team
of eight volunteers to cover work in the Slough, Maidenhead
and Reading area's, transferring patients to and from hospitals and
doctors surgeries since the week running up to Christmas and have
continued to do so in 2009. All of St John Ambulance's technicians,
who have many years of experience, are highly trained in
emergencies ranging from minor injuries to heart attacks.
The work they have undertaken in the last couple of weeks has clearly been invaluable to so many people and they should be commended for their dedication.
Robert Newman
Commissioner Operations, St John Ambulance Berkshire
Commissioner Operations from St John Berkshire, Mr Robert
Newman said: 'St John Ambulance has a commitment to support
the ambulance service in times of emergency as part of our
role as the ambulance reserve.
'Our fully trained volunteers would always expect to support the
service at this time of year when calls tend to rise, but the
demand this year is much higher. We believe this is due to a
colder start to the winter which exacerbates cardiac and
respiratory problems, as well as increases in falls, flu and
norovirus. The work they have undertaken in the last couple of
weeks has clearly been invaluable to so many people and they should
be commended for their dedication.'