Hogmanay ambulance calls down 15% on 2013

HOGMANAY was the busiest night of the year for the ambulance service, although calls were down 15 per cent on the previous new year’s eve figures.

Edinburgh-based ambulance crews attended 923 incidents between midnight and 7am. Picture: Jane Barlow

The Scottish Ambulance Service dealt with 2,423 calls to its 999 centres across Scotland, down from last year’s total of 2,878.

Ambulance crews attended 1,280 incidents, down slightly on the 1,364 incidents responded to last year.

Additional call handlers, dispatchers and ambulance crews were on duty to deal with the surge in demand across the country and Edinburgh - which hosted its famous street party, attracting 75,000 people - was the busiest of the three ambulance control centres.

Demand was particularly high between midnight and 7am, when control rooms dealt with 1,864 emergency calls, dispatching ambulance crews to 923 incidents.

Pauline Howie, chief executive, Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Hogmanay is always our busiest night and this year was no different as we dealt with a high volume of calls across the country.

“Whilst there were fewer calls overall than last year, the number of incident responses was similar and activity at times was intense, with most of the workload occurring between midnight and 7am.

“All of the teams in our control rooms and out on the streets showed their professionalism and commitment, working tirelessly throughout the night to deliver care to those in need.”