Covid crisis has been 'brutal' this past year, Welsh paramedic tells LBC
30 March 2021, 16:42
Covid crisis has been 'brutal' this past year, Welsh paramedic tells LBC
More than a year into the coronavirus crisis, a paramedic in the Welsh Ambulance Service says the pandemic has been ‘brutal’.
LBC joined Ross French, a first responder based in South East Wales, on a shift over the weekend.
After treating a suspected coronavirus patient, and speaking about the number of calls he’d receive every shift last year, Ross told LBC: “It was absolutely relentless.
“You’d have 30 minutes in your day that wasn’t dealing with patients.
“We were clearing maybe ten jobs a shift and of those, in the second wave, probably seven would confirmed or suspected Covid.
“Not many of them would have had coronavirus in the first wave but there was certainly that risk element there.
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“I’d say the first wave was a shock, but the second one was brutal. Or more brutal than the first.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service was hit hard by the pandemic, having to draft in the military for assistance in December to help deal with the workload.
While the number of coronavirus cases they are currently dealing with is far lower than during the peaks of last year, we’re still being warned that we aren’t out of the pandemic yet.
Ross said: “Things are getting batter, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“The vaccine programme is actually being rolled out fantastically well.
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“But Covid is still a real threat. It will still cause harm to you, your families and others.”
Coronavirus restrictions in Wales continue to be eased, with the latest changes ending travel restrictions within the country and allowing self-contained accommodation businesses to welcome guests again.
The Welsh Government will be meeting later this week to discuss opening up more sectors of the economy.
There could be a further announcement regarding lockdown easing in Wales as early as Thursday.
