More than 100 organisations are joining forces to mark International Paramedics Day today (8 July).
Launched in 2022, it sets out to celebrate paramedics and first responders, promoting the profession, and acknowledge the difference paramedics make to people's lives.
International Paramedics Day was first organised by the College of Paramedics in response to the tremendous personal sacrifices and life-saving efforts made by all those working in pre-hospital emergency care during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
This year's theme is 'The Difference We Make', which explores the many ways our frontline clinicians make a difference, from responding to life-threatening emergencies to providing comfort to patients and their loved ones in their hour of need.
To mark the occasion, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) released new figures detailing the number of attendances for face-to-face incidents.
Since the last annual International Paramedics Day in July 2023, ambulance crews have attended more than 1,000,000 face-to face incidents from trips and falls right up to life-threatening emergencies like strokes and cardiac arrests.
Additionally, 180,000 patients were treated over the phone by paramedics based in 999 control rooms.
Chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer for LAS said: “Today alone our paramedics will attend around 3,000 incidents in London and try to make a real difference for people in need of medical help.
“Paramedicine has evolved significantly over the past decades and we now have such a broad range of roles at London Ambulance Service providing increasingly tailored and specialist care to our patients."
This year also marks a decade since the first ever patient was cared for by an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner in Critical Care, a clinical role created role in London which has additional post-graduate education and are trained to use extra medicines and equipment.
Dave Green, executive director of Quality and Chief Paramedic at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “International Paramedics Day provides us with perfect opportunity to celebrate the incredible contribution that paramedics make to patients every minute of every day.
"We have 1,960 paramedics who work in a variety of roles, including on the frontline, in our Emergency Operations Centre and NHS 111 service as well as in other departments such as research and quality improvement."
