A SAHARAN dust cloud could have been partly to blame for a spike in ambulance calls in Oxfordshire this year, bosses have claimed.

Gale force winds in April swept dust and sand from North Africa’s Sahara Desert over to the UK, causing widespread smogs when rainwater evaporated.

And at a scrutiny meeting yesterday, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) chief operating officer Sue Byrne said a report had found it contributed to a rise in 999 calls, as well as the introduction of the 111 service and an ageing population. She told Oxfordshire County Council’s joint health overview and scrutiny committee the findings had come as “quite a surprise.”

Ms Byrne told members: “It is believed that the change in climate affected things as well. Last year there was a very specific instance that came with the severe flooding.

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“And there was a dust cloud from the Sahara that, combined with pollution, saw people in this area with certain conditions – such as those who have difficulty breathing – affected. We believe that contributed to the unusually high demand this year.”

Her comments came after figures showed demand on the service rose by 35 per cent on last year across the county from April to October, piling extra pressure on first responders.

The service – which got 2,028 calls in October – said this was a 44.2 per cent rise in “semi-urban” areas, 37.1 per cent in rural places and 32.9 per cent in urban locations.

They are for the most serious “life threatening” calls and Government rules say 75 per cent must be reached within eight minutes. That target has not been reached in the county since April, with SCAS hitting 71.54 per cent in August and 72.73 per cent in October.

It means about 500 people are waiting longer than eight minutes each month, but three quarters in October were below eight minutes and 21 seconds.

A report by the service – which comes amid concerns about recruitment – said: “Demand for 999 services has seen large growth in activity between April and July of this year, above the expected plan. This has begun to stabilise in August and September, with demand more in line with forecasts.”

SCAS has said it is continuing to work on schemes that train people in communities to be first responders to help combat the rise in demand. Spokeswoman Michelle Archer said the increase in demand was because of a growing elderly population in the county.

And, she added, the introduction of the 111 service meant more calls than before were being transferred to 999.

Bed-blocking

At yesterday’s meeting, councillors also grilled bosses of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG), Oxford University Hospitals Trust and Oxford Health about why they were missing bed-blocking targets.

Bed-blocking is when a patient is well enough to leave a bed but cannot because means-tested social services care is not available for them to return home.

OCCG interim deputy director for delivery and localities Diane Hedges said: “This is a problem across the whole system and we are not making the progress we want. We need to stop looking at it as an organisational issue and pull together.’’


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