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Ambulance service sees rise in emergencies over festive period

FROM street fighting in Merseyside, firework injuries in Bolton, to assaults in Lancashire, New Year's Eve is historically 1 the busiest times of year for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and this year was no exception. The Trust received over 5,300* 999 calls on New Year's Day alone. Also, Christmas Day 2019 saw an increase of 7% when compared to 2018 and the day started in an extra special way with a baby being born in an ambulance just after midnight. Messages of well wishes and support came flooding in on social media for the thousands of NWAS staff who worked over the festive period, sacrificing time with their families to help others.

Director of Operations, Ged Blezard said:- "As always, we were well prepared for the spike in calls over the Christmas period with months of planning and additional resources on key dates. I would like to thank everyone for their support during this busy time. We must prioritise life threatening emergencies which can mean that patients in a less serious condition do experience a wait. We have been able to reduce wait times as much as possible by utilising our clinical hub providing medical advice over the phone and treating patients in the community wherever possible, reducing unnecessary A&E admissions. Alongside our dedicated staff, we are also very grateful for the support from our Community First Responders over Christmas and New Year. We have had the highest number of sign ons from them than ever before and their presence is invaluable. The fact that they are volunteers and give their time freely makes their contribution even more commendable."

NHS 111 has also been extremely busy, the busiest day being Saturday, 28 December 2019, with 12,460 calls, that is 1 every 7 seconds!

Ged continues:- "As we head into January and February and the temperature plummets, we are expecting the high demand to continue and ask for the public to continue to help us by only calling:- 999 in life threatening emergencies."

People can take advice from a Pharmacist for common health niggles, book an appointment with their GP for health issues which will not go away, visit an urgent Treatment Centre for minor illnesses and injuries or use the NHS:- 111 phone or online health advice service. In emergencies, if it is safe to get to an Emergency Department (A&E) without an Ambulance then people should do that as arriving at Hospital, by Ambulance, won't mean you're seen any quicker.

* This statistic includes:- 999 calls, duplicate calls, incidents at events where NWAS is the medical provider and 111 pass throughs..

Going, Going, Gone … at Southport Contemporary Arts

THE Southport Contemporary Arts will be welcoming in the New Year with its much anticipated Under the Bed Sale at the SCA / Art House, located on Eastbank Street, from Tuesday, 8 January to Saturday, 25 January 2020.

This annual art lover's sale offers the avid art collector wanting to boost their own collection and the savvy bargain hunter resurfacing after the Boxing Day sales, the opportunity to buy high quality art and craft ranging from hand thrown ceramics and original paintings to decorative embroideries and intricate jewellery, all offered at much reduced prices for the duration of the exhibition.

Norrie Beswick Calvert, Co-Director of SCA, reports:- "Our exhibiting artists never charge the full worth of the beautifully handcrafted and unique pieces that they make, so it always seems a shame to then reduce them for The Under the Bed Sale. Because they are always busy creating new work and coming up with new and exciting ideas, they just simply run out of storage space! The Under the Bed Sale gives everyone a chance to bag even more of a bargain than usual by shopping with us during the exhibition and supporting their local independent Gallery and local artists and makers."

The Southport Contemporary Arts community began in 2009 with the aim to recognize, promote and support the many talented artists active in Southport who were striving for the same goals and ambitions. The current list of creative skills represented by the members of SCA now includes:- painters, textile artists, filmmakers, photographers, printmakers, sculptors, jewellers, musicians, poets and performance based artists.

SCA provides the opportunity for creative's from all backgrounds and disciplines to be recognized and appreciated.

If you're looking for affordable art don't hesitate; these are all 1 offs and once they're gone, they're gone.

RECAP... The 'UNDER THE BED SALE' runs from 8 January to 25 January 2020 - Friday from 10 am to 3 pm and Saturday, 11am to 4pm.