TV BLOW FOR MERCY CREWS

Over the past 10 years emergency calls have shot up by a massive 84 per cent, ambulance bosses revealed.

Now they are concerned how to predict where demand for the blue-light service is going to come from next.

In six months up to April this year, paramedics faced a 46 per cent increase in the number of call-outs to deal with falls, a 40 per cent rise in assault cases, the same for reports of chest pains, and a 16 per cent rise in calls to suicide attempts.

Steve McGuinness, director of operations at Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Trust, outlined the figures - and the problems they brought - in a special presentation to ambulance leaders.

He suggested the high profile of ambulance crews in TV dramas could be a reason for a heavier workload.

"Can we really blame Josh for all this?" said Mr McGuinness, referring to the popular paramedic in the Saturday night hospital drama.

"The high profile of our services now means people are calling for ambulances when they could be treated in other ways.

"During our research we've not only found a steady growth during the past 10 years but a significant hike in calls month-on-month.

"The main problem is not knowing when these blips in activity are going to happen and not having any extra resources to cope with them.

"For example, if you compare April 2000 with April 2001 we can see there was a 104 per cent rise in falls and a 69 per cent rise in suicide attempts.

"These swings in activity are very hard to predict, but we believe the number of falls is up due to the ageing population."

Chairman Paul Leopold said the extra workload had implications for the staff.

"Our staff are being forced to work harder and harder and at the same time learning new skills and treatments. Maybe we need two extra crews to help us hit the new standards?"

Mr Leopold has suggested the Trust invites a graduate to study the figures in a bid to predict future activity.