A message from the London Ambulance Service on Her Majesty The Queen’s lying-in-state and funeral

Director for Ambulance Operations Darren Farmer has shared the following message for London:

“We join the rest of the country and people across the world in sending our sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this time of immense and profound grief for our nation.

“Her Majesty did so much to support the NHS and emergency services throughout her long and momentous reign, and our staff and volunteers were proud and humbled to be able to support the celebration of her Platinum Jubilee in the summer.

“Whilst extremely sad, I know our paramedics, 999 call handlers and other staff and volunteers feel the same pride and honour in being able to serve Her Majesty – and care for Londoners – as we mark her lying-in-state and funeral.

“With the increase of visitors in London, we expect to be particularly busy, but have robust plans in place to ensure we continue to provide the best possible care to people across the capital.

“We are working very closely with the Royal Household, Metropolitan Police, Cabinet Office, St John Ambulance, TfL and other ambulance services and, whilst very different, we have significant experience of supporting large scale events, including the 2012 Olympics, Notting Hill Carnival and Pride.

“Over the next few days, we will have about 120 extra staff deployed across our 999 control rooms and on the road, which will rise to 300 extra staff on duty on the day of the funeral (Monday). This will include teams on foot in crowded areas and in our 999 control rooms, to manage the anticipated increase in demand and ensure we reach the most seriously ill and injured patients as quickly as possible.

“It’s important that people joining the queue follow the advice provided on the government website, including bringing with them any regular medication, appropriate clothing, drink plenty of water and eat regularly. If it’s cold, its important people wear appropriate clothing to keep them warm. There will be fixed first aid treatment centres provided by St John Ambulance along the route, supported by cycle and motorcycle responders, medical response teams and ambulances from the London Ambulance Service.

“Our teams are always here to help if you need us, but we would ask that people follow advice, use our service wisely and contact your GP, pharmacy or NHS 111 where possible. Londoners can continue to help us by only calling 999 in a serious medical emergency.

“Our staff and volunteers are working incredibly hard to ensure our patients receive the best possible care, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the London Ambulance Service team, particularly those working over the bank holiday weekend.”

Background information: 

• Working with our partners, we cared for 435 patients up until midnight at the end of Thursday 15 September along the lying-in-state queuing route and surrounding areas, including Hyde Park, Whitehall and Millbank.
• Specifically, we and our partners treated 291 patients on Wednesday 14 September, of whom 17 were taken to hospital, and 144 patients on Thursday 15 September, of whom 25 were taken to hospital.
• The majority of the incidents we attended were faints and collapses, which resulted in head injuries.