Ambulance staff face barrage of abuse during busiest New Year's Eve in region's history

The trust took 1,281 calls from 6.00pm to midnight, more than a 200-call increase on the previous busiest period in 2017/18 in which 1,066 calls taken.

A number of control room staff have reported receiving abuse from callers during this time, something which chief executive Anthony Marsh has moved to condemn.

He said: "Given what an important role they play, it is disappointing that so many of them reported being abused over the phone by callers.

"All they are trying to do is find out as much detail about the patient as possible, it doesn’t delay the arrival of an ambulance, it just means the crew are better prepared for the situation they respond to."

Following midnight, there was no let up for the trust, with 1,721 calls answered, the most since 2007/08.

Meanwhile many ambulances are being kept off the road due to long waits to handover patients to hospitals, something which WMAS has previously said is putting patients at "catastrophic risk".

There have been many reports of patients waiting more than five hours for an ambulance in recent months due to the pressure on medics across the region and beyond.

Mr Marsh added: "I would once again pay tribute to the astonishing efforts of our staff who continue to work so incredibly hard.

"Thousands of our staff were working while much of the UK was celebrating the start of a new year.

"Again, the staff in our control rooms were particularly busy.

"They are the front door to our service and play a vital role in triaging the calls that come in.

"As we move into what is traditionally, the busiest period the year for the NHS, it is more important than ever that we all play our part in using the health service responsibly.

"I would ask everyone to consider using 111 online in the first instance unless it is a life-threatening emergency.

"We will continue to prioritise patients so that we get to those in most need first.

"I would also urge everyone who has not yet had their booster jab to get it as soon as possible.

"Doing so is the best way of avoiding catching corona virus, and by doing so, you will be reducing the pressures on the NHS."

This record breaking evening followed one of the busiest Christmas periods the trust has faced.

Control room staff took more than 3,000 additional calls during this year's festive period compared to 2019, a rise of 17.3 per cent.

Over the five days from December 24-28, 22,826 emergency calls were taken compared to 19,467 in 2019.