North West Ambulance Service plea at Christmas and Bank Holidays

Think of the ambulance service (NWAS) and you’ll probably think of bright yellow vehicles and blue flashing lights, but there’s a lot more to them than that.

Ambulances and crews working at the Emergency Department of a North West hospital

They serve more than seven million people across the communities of Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Glossop (Derbyshire). Plus, receive approximately 1.7 million 999 calls and respond to over a million emergency incidents each year!

An ambulance responding to an emergency call

If that’s not enough, they also make more than 1.3 million patient transport journeys every year for those who require non-emergency transport to and from healthcare appointments. Also delivering the NHS 111 service across the region for people who need medical help or advice, handling around 3.6 million calls every year.

NWAS employ over 7,000 staff in over 300 different roles, with more than 1,000 volunteers as community first responders, volunteer car drivers or patient and public panel members. They have over 1,000 emergency and non-emergency vehicles operating across the North West with more than 100 ambulance stations.

Jareth Ballan, the Service Delivery Manager for NWAS came into the studios and chatted to Steve Evans. Jareth explained how they operate, the area they cover and the roles they fulfil to help keep us safe and deliver us to hospital, and more.

Jareth Ballan in studio 1 at Radio Clatterbridge

In particular, this Christmas and any period around bank holidays are always an added strain on the services they provide. Jareth made a plea and asked that you help, by ensuring you order repeat prescriptions in plenty of time, so you do not run out.

We can all do our part and not put additional pressures on NWAS by ringing unnecessarily with minor illnesses injuries and other problems. By all means ring 111 for advice, or even better do it online. But think before you use the 999 service, it could save a life!

A Paramedic administering treatment just prior to heading to hospital

Listen now to Jareth chatting to Steve about the essential services they provide to us all. Not just with emergency 999 calls, but assistance through the 111 service too.