V Festival: Ambulance staff and volunteers hit the right note for care

Staff have been commended for their professional attitude and exemplary care at this year’s V Festival in Chelmsford.

Of the tens of thousands of festival goers, a few hundred were treated by EEAST and St John Ambulance Service colleagues.

In total, more than 380 patients were treated by EEAST over the weekend (20th-21st August). Injuries ranged from blisters and bee stings to fractures and falls, as well as excessive alcohol consumption. Excluded from that figure were the number of patients treated and discharged from the scene, with just 30 people requiring hospital treatment.

Jon Moore ambulance executive officer said: "I'm delighted with the efforts made by our staff and volunteers over the weekend. What's also positive is to see the total number of patients we treat decreasing year on year, we hope this trend continues."

He added: "I'd like to thank everyone who was involved including the operational, control and support staff."

Kevin Brown, Director of Service Delivery, also paid tribute to the staff involved: “This is a big event and has many challenges, so thank you to everyone for the efforts that went into the organisation and planning of our presence there and to make it a safe event. About 90% of patients were prevented from needing hospital conveyance because of the good quality care our teams gave during the weekend.”

To inform Twitter followers about staff work at the site, and the kinds of incidents attended, a special Twitterthon was run over both days. You can find the tweets at @EastEnglandAmb or #VFestival.

Published 25th August, 2016