Ambulance call-out figures soar

Many requests for ambulances are unnecessary

There has been a large rise in the number of emergency calls to the ambulance service, according to figures obtained by the BBC.

The increase in 999 call-outs is about a fifth in some areas, which the Ambulance Service Union says is placing extra stress on paramedics.

The reasons behind the increase may include changes in doctors' out-of-hours cover, the union adds.

The official figures will be published in April. Last year's rise was 6%.

But the BBC understands that this year the Scottish Ambulance Service will report a 12% year-on-year increase, while in the West Midlands and the North East the rise could be as high as 20%.

Chest pains

As well as changes to doctors' out-of-hours services, the Ambulance Service Union says more unnecessary calls and a recent British Heart Foundation campaign to raise awareness of chest pains could also explain the increase.

Spokesman Ray Carrick said: "There's people thinking that in the night-time, perhaps, there's no GP service available therefore the only option they have is to ring 999."

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Dr Mike Napton of the British Heart Foundation said the ambulance service was aware that its campaign to encourage people to dial 999 if they started suffering from chest pains would lead to more work for paramedics.

"We're glad that more people experiencing potential heart attack symptoms are calling 999 - our campaign is designed to raise awareness of this crucial issue because we know from hard evidence that too many heart attack patients delay too long before calling 999, and many die as a result.

"It's important people get the message that, with chest pain, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"The campaign has the full backing of all UK ambulance services, who insist they would rather attend a false alarm than arrive too late to save a patient."

Welsh emergency

Last month, the Welsh Ambulance Service declared a state of "special emergency" after record demand in Cardiff and the Vale.

People were urged to dial 999 only in life-threatening cases after calls reached "unprecedented levels".

The Welsh Assembly Government said it was monitoring the situation.

Last year's figures showed emergency 999 calls for ambulances reached a 10-year high of nearly six million in England during 2005-6.

Ambulance services attended 4.8 million emergency incidents in this period.

The figure was 6% higher than the previous year, and almost double the 3.2 million calls made in 1995-96.

The number of patient journeys increased during the year, rising by 4% to 3.5 million from 3.3 million in 2004-5.