UK Police to Ride Shotgun with Ambulance Crews on New Year`s Eve

Police will ride "shotgun" with Huddersfield paramedics tomorrow.

They plan to be there to deal with troublesome 999 calls on New Year's Eve - traditionally the busiest night of the year for the ambulance ser vice.

Last year, the Yorkshire Ambulance Service took 2,550 people to A&E departments across the region - an increase of 34% on a normal day.

Many of the alcohol-fueled calls come in within a concentrated period and it is hoped the scheme will also help to protect paramedics from harm.

Yorkshire Ambulance locality director Paul Mudd said: "We piloted the scheme in Hull and it is now being rolled out in Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds.

"The initiative worked very well and it should mean the paramedic vehicle can quickly deal with injured people in the town centre, as they will not need to wait for police assistance, in turn reducing the demand at the hospital."

The joint partnership between West Yorkshire Police and the NHS will see police travelling with a paramedic in one of the ambulance service's rapid response vehicles - and where necessary police will get a statement before the patient is transferred to casualty.

Due to the high volume of calls within a 24-hour period, the ambulance service is also keen to urge people to ring 999 only when it is a life-threatening situation.

Examples of inappropriate 999 calls include: ear pain, toothache, stubbed toe, broken finger nail, sore throat and hangover.

Mr Mudd added: "While our 999 call-takers and ambulance crews are caught up dealing with patients who have called with minor ailments, we might not be able to get to people who urgently need us and this can put the lives of other patients at risk.

"We have even had instances were people ring an ambulance because they can't get taxis and think they will get a hot drink at hospital."

But he stressed: "Our highly-trained staff will be working hard over the winter months to get to those who require an emergency medical response as quickly as possible and ask that people only call 999 for an ambulance in a medical emergency when someone is in need of time-critical help."

To try and ease the unnecessary pressure, ambulance bosses are appealing to people with minor illnesses and injuries to consider more appropriate healthcare services for their needs such as a visit to a GP, walk-in-centre, minor injuries unit or a pharmacist, or call NHS Direct.

The average cost incurred for each 999 emergency ambulance journey is pounds 249 plus an A&E attendance tariff of pounds 59 to pounds 117 incurred by their primary care trust.

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