East Midlands Ambulance Service '˜blown away' by help

Staff working for East Midlands Ambulance Service say they have been 'blown away' by the generosity and support they have received from the public during the bad weather.
The community has been supporting the East Midlands Ambulance ServiceThe community has been supporting the East Midlands Ambulance Service
The community has been supporting the East Midlands Ambulance Service

A spokesman for East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) said: “We have been absolutely blown away by the generosity and community spirit shown across the East Midlands.

“We’ve seen farmers using their tractors to pull our ambulances from snow drifts, offers of free meals to our crews out on the road, communities and businesses clearing roads to allow our ambulances to access patients or take them to hospital and a huge donation of food from Tesco to help keep our 999 control room in Lincolnshire sustained.

“Please continue to help our crews help you and your loved ones during the severe weather.”

While many non-essential patient transport journeys have been cancelled until 9am tomorrow morning, the EMAS Patient Transport Service crews in Derbyshire have been battling to get to patients with vital appointments.

A thank you was issued to the crew who specially arranged a 4x4 last night to make sure a patient could get home from Sheffield hospital to Alfreton and to Buxton Mountain Rescue Team who are helping collect patients in the Peaks who need to get to their vital kidney dialysis appointments.

EMAS Chief Executive Richard Henderson said: “I thank all our staff and volunteers for their continued commitment to our patients.

“The weather is causing challenging driving conditions but I have heard so many stories over the past day or so of colleagues and volunteers going above and beyond to ensure they are able to do their job and help the people in our communities.

“From colleagues out on the road and those in our control centres to the teams that support them, their hard work is very much appreciated by not only the EMAS Trust Board, but those in the communities that we care for; as is shown by the messages of praise we receive from many of them on our social media accounts.”