South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is urging people only to call 999 in a genuine emergency this Christmas. Demand for the service is likely to peak between Saturday 22 December and Boxing Day when staff are expecting to deal with more than 3,100 incidents a day. Managers warn that unnecessary calls over the busy festive period could delay emergency help for people in real need of an ambulance. SWASFT has released a montage of clips from 10 inappropriate calls it received from the public recently, as examples of people calling 999 for the wrong reasons. The 10...
Devon’s doctors are urging patients to use the NHS 111 system for health advice through the winter months as hospitals become increasingly busy.
The free to call service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and can provide patients with advice on any urgent issues that they may be facing.
The service is staffed by a team of fully trained medical advisers who are assisted by nurses and paramedics.
They are able to provide information on personal health, direct a patient to a walk-in centre or minor injuries unit and, if necessary, book an appointment with a...
A new report published by the British Red Cross and Aviva shows that the majority of people in Devon want to help if disaster strikes in their community but would not know what to do. (1)
The report, ‘When Crisis Hits: mobilising kindness in our communities’, published today, reveals that nine in ten people (90%) in Devon say that if an emergency happened in their community they would want to get involved, yet nearly half (45%) of people would not know what to do if a disaster struck.
The British Red Cross, in partnership with Aviva, is calling on people across Devon to...
A free event to help communities across Devon prepare for incidents such as severe weather and flooding is being held near Exeter next week.
The interactive day, entitled 'Becoming Resilient', will include guest speakers, workshops, case studies and an expert question and answer panel. It's being held on Wednesday 9 November, from 10.30am to 4pm, at the Kenn Centre in Kennford. Aimed at those interested or involved in emergency and recovery planning in their community, the event will include sessions the role of community rest centres, the role of the emergency services, testing...
The RD&E’s Emergency Department and Medical Triage Unit are under severe strain with record levels of people seeking urgent medical attention.
On Tuesday this week (31st May) 391 people attended the Trust – the highest number ever recorded. Attendance in A&E is up year on year by 11% compared to last May placing unprecedented pressure on emergency services.
With record levels of people coming to the A&E department at the RD&E, the public are being asked by doctors to use emergency services only when absolutely necessary.
A free event to help communities across Devon prepare for incidents such as severe weather and flooding is being held near Exeter next week.
The interactive day, entitled 'Becoming Resilient', will include guest speakers, workshops, case studies and an expert question and answer panel.
It's being held on Wednesday 11 May, from 10am to 4pm, at the Kenn Centre in Kennford. Aimed at those interested or involved in emergency and recovery planning in their community, the event will include sessions on rest centres, Devon’s snow warden scheme, emergency plan implementation, risk...
Exeter Local Policing team have launched their ‘Think Before You Park’ project in partnership with Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue and Exeter County Council Parking Enforcement.
The project is an exciting new multiagency initiative that aims to tackle problem parking, where drivers have parked anti-socially, without care or consideration for other road users, pedestrians and emergency service vehicles.
The pilot has initially targeted residential areas and areas outside of primary schools within Exeter.
By adopting an education before enforcement approach, road...
Now that the summer season is upon us and the holiday makers are arriving in all corners of the region, South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT) is reminding people to Choose Well and only dial 999 in a life threatening emergency.
Over the last weekend (Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th July) the Trust attended a host of incidents including stabbings, cardiac arrests, a sky diving accident and an accident involving a glider.
Ambulance crews also attended countless road traffic collisions, especially as the wet weather hit across the patch, and staff are reminding motorists to...
People with disabilities are invited to experience a festival of activities at Blue Light Day tomorrow (Wednesday 29 July).
The event will be held at St Lukes Science and Sports College, Exeter.
Supported by Devon and Cornwall Police and other public, private and charitable organisations, the theme of the day is ‘be healthy, be active and be safe’.
The event, which is the first of its kind in Exeter, aims to help people with disabilities keep safe and become more confident and independent in their community. It hopes to help break down any barriers that exist...
