**************MEDIA OPPORTUNITY**************
*Not for publication
WHAT:
Sixty nine volunteers will be thanked for their support this year at an event held by the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS). Together they have contributed 186,000 hours to the ambulance service.
The event will celebrate the long service of volunteers that have dedicated between two and 25 years of service and 10 of those volunteers will receive an award for exceptional conduct, for going the extra mile for their patients.
Volunteer porters, ambulance car service drivers and community first responders invest thousands of hours in their communities every year by supporting the Trust’s patients.
WHO: NEAS acting chief operating officer, Victoria Court
NEAS volunteers
WHEN: Wednesday 5 June, 5:30pm
WHERE: Durham County Cricket Club, Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3QR
Members of the press wishing to attend are asked to please register beforehand with the NEAS press office on 07559 918672 or publicrelations@neas.nhs.uk
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
For more information, contact the NEAS press office on 07559 918672 or email publicrelations@neas.nhs.uk
About North East Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,600 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2017/18 the service answered over 1.4 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 280,00 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 27,000 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged over 100,000 patients at home. In the same year, clinical crews responded to 126,746 of our highest priority patients within the national targets and scheduled care crews completed almost 580,000 patient transport journeys.