Busy days for 999 service (From Witney Gazette)

Busy days for 999 service

3:40pm Wednesday 9th January 2008 in Witney

PARAMEDICS in Oxfordshire dealt with almost two thirds more 999 calls than normal every day throughout Christmas and New Year.

South Central Ambulance Trust said the festive period was the busiest time ever for the organisation. Between December 24 and January 1, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire division answered 4,387 calls.

Although the trust could not break down the number into separate counties, a crude split according to population figures estimated that Oxfordshire ambulance crews dealt with about 2,050 of the requests for help - about 227 patients every day, compared to a normal daily average of 144 across the county.