West Midlands Ambulance Service: Covid hits call staff

An ambulance service call centre is dealing with a major Covid outbreak which, sources say, is reducing the amount of available handlers.

Call staff at West Midlands Ambulance Service's (WMAS) Emergency Operating Centre in Stafford have been moved upstairs to try to reduce infections.

The news comes two days after the service experienced its busiest day on record, dealing with 5,383 calls.

WMAS said staffing was being maintained and the service was operating normally.

A source told the BBC there were occasions when as a result of the outbreak, only four ambulance dispatchers were on duty at the Stafford site - one of three WMAS call centres.

And an ambulance paramedic claimed there had been five people covering his sector when there should have been 15.

The Emergency Operating Centre and ambulance hub in Stafford employs hundreds of staff and dispatches ambulances to Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire.

The outbreak is also said to have affected ambulance crews. It was claimed there was an occasion with more stacked calls than crews on the road in Staffordshire.

Additionally, a source said a message was sent out to crews to not contact control unless it was important.

West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed some staff working in the Stafford call centre had tested positive for Covid-19, but did not give a figure.

It said it had been able to maintain staffing levels because it operated its three West Midlands call centres as "one virtual" hub.

"We have continued to take calls and operate as normal, with 999 calls being answered on average in two seconds," a spokesperson said.

WMAS has asked staff who are trained in both 111 and 999 call-handling to work flexibly to support each service.

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