WEST Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is celebrating its biggest ever sporting job well done.
WMAS provided medical cover for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games working alongside medical teams put in place by the organising committee.
In total, WMAS scheduled over 23,000 hours of ambulance time including 1,766 shifts made up of 770 on ambulances and 226 commander shifts.
They were supported by 160 shifts in our control room, 60 vehicle preparation operative shifts preparing up to 60 ambulances and 27 cars each day and 40 shifts in the National Ambulance Resilience Unit.
During the 11 days of the sporting extravaganza WMAS were called on to help 166 patients of which just 83 were taken to hospital.
Trust chief executive Anthony Marsh said: “This has been a hugely successful event that has placed Birmingham and the wider West Midlands in the spotlight for all of the right reasons. My congratulations to the organising committee for putting on such a well run event.
“I want to pay tribute to the hundreds of staff who gave up their time off with their families to come and work during the games. You have done an amazing job helping to keep the huge crowds safe.
“I am immensely proud of everything you have done to show what a wonderful city Birmingham is and indeed the wider West Midlands and what it has to offer.
“You have interacted with the public and the games family on a daily basis and shown what a fantastic career the ambulance service has to offer and for that I am immensely grateful.”
Head of emergency planning and Commonwealth Games lead for the Trust, James Williams added his thanks.
“What an incredible couple of weeks it’s been for the region. I want to say a huge ‘thank you’, to everyone in the trust who has been involved for making the games as successful as it has been. It’s been wonderful to see the whole trust getting behind the event and helping colleagues out wherever they can.
“It’s been a real morale booster for staff, not just the crews out at venues but all the backroom staff as well. Can I also say thank you to the planning team – we started this journey as soon as Birmingham was awarded the Games in December 2017 and that really stepped up a gear in early 2021. It has been quite a journey but so worth it. All that effort has delivered a magnificent event, one which we can all be proud of.”
