Camaraderie and calls - ambulance duty at Christmas

"They're trying to enjoy themselves but they are ready to answer the calls for the people that need us, when they need us."

This is how Gemma Robinson, head of Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), described Christmas Day at one of its main control rooms in Otterbourne, Hampshire when the BBC visited.

She said the service had received about 600 calls on Christmas morning and that it "tends to get busier on Boxing Day".

"The staff do their best to help those people who are not necessarily having the same Christmases as they might want to," Ms Robinson said.

SCAS is a 24/7 service across Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

Ms Robinson said they had been "a little bit reduced" on staffing, with more than 30 emergency call takers.

Compared to other days, she said Christmas Day "overall tends to be relatively calm".

"It tends to pick up throughout the day when people have had maybe a big dinner or indulged a bit much," Ms Robinson said.

"It tends to get busier on Boxing Day."

She said the staff would usually celebrate with their family at a different time or fill it in around their shifts.

Ms Robinson added their Christmas Day would also involve a buffet and quizzes.

"There's a lot of camaraderie and they just try and enjoy the day around the work as best as they can."

She said the crews also "do their best to help those people who are not necessarily having the same Christmases as they might want to".

"The message is - if you need us in that emergency situation, call us.

"If it is something more minor, we have got 111 services that are open as well and working in here with us."

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