Record demand for emergency ambulance service

Wednesday 01 September 2021

New daily and monthly records of emergency call outs have been recorded by Guernsey’s ambulance service, which has been busier than ever before.

August has seen over 600 call outs from St John Emergency Ambulance, marking the first time in local history that the service has needed to attend that many emergencies in a single month.

Guernsey’s only emergency ambulance service responded to 33 calls on Saturday alone, which exceeded the previous daily record of 31 calls in a 24-hour period, which occurred in April this year. 

Pictured: St John Emergency Ambulance responded to 111 across four days leading into the Bank Holiday weekend. 

The high demand means that off-duty ambulance personnel are being regularly called back into work to provide care for islanders in times of need, and it is not uncommon for several calls to be received at once.  

Chief Ambulance Officer Mark Mapp describes the increase in calls as a “general trend” with “no single reason for the increased demand.” 

Common emergencies were detailed as falls and a wide range of medical emergencies and traumatic injuries, as well as mental health cases.

Mr Mapp added: “I would like to thank the team at the Emergency Ambulance Service for their continued hard work and professionalism.

"I would also like to acknowledge the dedication of those members of staff who have been called back into work during busy periods to enable us to maintain cover for the island.”