Ambulance crews get 27 calls in 24 hours

Off-duty staff were called in to work to provided cover

Ambulance crews in Guernsey dealt with 27 calls in 24 hours on Thursday.

Call-outs included several of the highest priority calls and one to help a patient in Sark.

Off-duty staff were called in to work to provide cover and senior managers were diverted to operational duties, said Ambulance and Rescue Guernsey.

The pressure meant 999 calls were triaged "to ensure the most serious cases were attended to in order of priority and less serious cases received the appropriate response", said a spokesperson.

The service said: "Ambulance crews attended a total of 27 calls across 24 hours, which although is short of a record, did include periods when several cases were being responded to at the same time."

A Sark patient was taken to hospital in Guernsey by boat and a lifeboat crew helped rescue someone from Petit Port, in Guernsey.

"The ambulance service would like to thank the lifeboat volunteers and police officers who attended this case," said the spokesperson.