Army begins to cover Covid-related staff absence in ambulance service

Army personnel begin training today to deal with non-emergency call outs for the North West Ambulance Service.

Bosses at the service, known as NWAS, requested military help at the beginning of January, as a quarter of their staff were forced to stay home due to Covid.

Around 150 army members will be trained to drive ambulances, how to lift and move patients, use emergency kits and give basic life support.

NWAS say they will be on-the-road for a "number of weeks."

Ged Blezard, the Director of Operations at NWAS, said: "It is no secret that the ambulance service, along with the NHS as a whole, has been under extreme pressure for several months.

"Now we are also experiencing high numbers of staff absences due to confirmed Covid-19 cases and isolation, with around 25% of the workforce currently affected."

• Dr Andrew Furber, Director of Public Health NHS North West

It is not the first time the army has been called upon to help the blue light service.

Last winter, military personnel attended 4,600 non-life-threatening 999 incidents for NWAS.