PARAMEDICS tweeted details of a number of calls they attended in East Lancashire, as part of a challenge to mark the 80th anniversary of the 999 emergency number.

North West Ambulance Service’s (NWAS) Communications Team attempted to tweet 999 of the 4,000 emergency calls the service receive on a daily basis.

Members of the team tweeted basic, non-identifiable details of 999 calls to show the range of calls the Trust answers and the outcome of the calls.

Amongst the calls in East Lancashire was to a patient in Colne who was found on the floor after a fall and a patient in Accrington who was vomiting and suffering severe pain.

In one Twitter post, they tweeted: “408 #999calls Help is on the way to an elderly female who has fallen and cut her face in Blackburn”

In another, they said: “398 #999calls Our urgent care team is calling back a patient in Burnley to give advice to a patient with groin pain.”

And another tweet said: “280 #999Calls An ambulance has arrived to a patient in Colne who has been found on the floor after a fall.”

Tweet 212 reads: “212 #999Calls A patient in a care home in Nelson is suffering from hallucinations and low observations.”

Tweet 113 said: “113 #999calls for man who has collapsed on a bus in #Blackburn. Crew on scene along with #police. Patient’s dog will be taken care of :)”

Tweet 100 said: “100 #999calls from patient in #Accrington who is vomiting and suffering severe pain.”

Head of Communications at North West Ambulance Service Julie Treharne said the day was a fitting tribute to a number which has helped so many people since its introduction.

Ms Treharne said: “It is a common misconception that every 999 call we receive results in an ambulance being sent, when in fact last year alone, over 135,000 calls were dealt with over the phone.

“Our tweets showed what the caller says the problem is and whether an ambulance was sent or not. We know 999 tweets was a tall order but we thought it would be a fitting tribute to the number which has helped so many people."