11 January 2012
The London Ambulance Service today
(Wednesday 11 January) welcomed Minister of State for Health Simon
Burns to its event control room, which will be used to manage the
day to day response to the 2012 Games.
Mr Burns, MP for Chelmsford, was given a tour of the control
room in Bow, East London, and heard how the Service’s plans for the
Games are progressing.
London Ambulance Service’s Head of Olympic Planning, Peter
Thorpe, said: “We’re really pleased that Mr Burns was able to come
and see how we’re preparing for the Games.
“We have been planning since 2007 and now it’s less than 200
days to go. We’re expecting to be very busy – and we could see
demand increasing by up to nine percent at peak times, which would
be an increase of around 360 calls a day. We’re very well practiced
at covering large-scale events, such as Notting Hill Carnival and
the London Marathon, however, it will be a challenge for us to be
so busy over such an extended period of time.”
During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the
ambulance service will be providing support to the London
Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) –
the main first aid and emergency healthcare provider at Games
venues. Staff will be working closely alongside them inside venues
and at cultural events across London, as well as providing any
necessary transport to hospitals.
Health Minister Simon Burns said: “I am delighted to be visiting
the hub of ambulance event planning for the 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games in Bow and meeting with staff from the London
Ambulance Service (LAS) who will be providing vital services for
the public during the Games.
“It will be an exciting but challenging time for our emergency
services with an estimated increase of up to 600,000 visitors per
day, and this visit is a great opportunity for me to see how the
LAS’s proven skills and experience will be employed to ensure a
fantastic and successful Games here in London.”
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
• The Event Control Room it is already used for large-scale
events, such as Notting Hill Carnival, London Marathon, the Royal
Wedding and major pre-planned protests with capacity for up to 35
members of staff. 999 calls are answered as normal in the emergency
operations room (in Waterloo headquarters). The patient’s
information is taken from the call taker, however, if the location
of the incident is within the event footprint, the call is
automatically passed to the event control room, where staff
dispatch resources (eg ambulance crew, cycle responder, foot teams
etc). It will work in a similar way during the Olympic and
Paralympic Games and will be in operation 24/7.
• For further information about the London Ambulance Service
or this news release please contact the communications department
on 020 7783 2286.
• Find out more about the London Ambulance Service at http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/
or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ldn_ambulance