West Midlands snow support

Volunteers were called upon to assist West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) throughout the hazardous snow and ice that Herefordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands experienced this January.

Specialist 4x4 ambulances were requested to help reach patients in areas where normal road ambulances would find it difficult to gain access.

Dedicated volunteers were called upon throughout the day and into the night to assist, with St John manning a total of 12 vehicles throughout Tuesday 5 January, when the poor weather reached its peak in the region. That evening 24 volunteers were deployed with more members ready to respond if needed.

Over an eight day period West Midlands volunteers covered a total of 37 shifts with a minimum of two first aiders on each crew. Providing approximately 259 hours voluntary service the volunteers worked six and eight hour long shifts with some members returning to their operations centre at 3am.

Crews dealt with a variety of call outs, assisting the ambulance service with urgent patient transfers and emergency calls throughout the region. Some calls were in response to the weather, others were related to medical conditions often made worse by the cold temperatures.

Driving conditions were made challenging in many parts of the region and this is where the St John 4x4 ambulances were able to assist greatly.

As greater demand was placed on WMAS, resources St John 4x4 vehicles provided support in areas that were difficult to reach due to the hazardous driving conditions. St John also provided additional support to local heath trusts and hospitals for dealing with transfers and transporting patients home.

Paul Bytheway, Commissioner Operations St John Ambulance West Midlands, said: 'Bad weather is often a challenging time for ambulance services as roads can become difficult and emergency calls can increase. This is where the invaluable support of our volunteers and the use of our 4x4 ambulances can really make a difference in supporting our local communities and provide assistance to those who need it. Our volunteers have again shown that they are able to respond quickly and professionally.'