We use cookies to improve our service and to tailor our content and advertising to you.More infoYou can manage your cookie settings via your browser at any time. To learn more about how we use cookies, please see our cookies policy.
London Ambulance Service compiles an illness category for each
Category A (life threatening) incident. Triaged Cat A illness data for
4505 days (3,677,454 incidents) between the 1st April 2001 and the end of
July 2013 has been examined for a study on the impact of extreme weather
and climate on LAS operations [1,2]. As part of this study a number of
very significant asthma peaks have been identified - which may also be
related to thunderstorm activity in London. The average daily number of
asthma incidents across London is close to 24 (about 3% of Cat A calls).
On the following dates, associated with thunderstorm activity recorded at
Hampstead in London [3], the following number of asthma incidents were
recorded:
06/08/2002 100 cases (22% of Cat A incidents)
17/06/2003 63 cases (14% of Cat A incidents)
24/06/2005 136 cases (30% of Cat A incidents)
25/06/2005 149 cases (33% of Cat A incidents)
13/06/2006 89 cases (20% of Cat A incidents)
16/06/2009 112 cases (25% of Cat A incidents)
23/07/2013 34 cases ( 8% of Cat A incidents)
Further analysis of the thunderstorm locations and timings are
currently being examined and it will be interesting to see if these peaks
are linked to other factors such as pollen/fungal spore levels.
[1]Thornes JE (2013) The Impact of Extreme Weather and Climate Change
on Ambulance Incidents and Response Times in London: Pilot Report for the
London Ambulance Service.
[2] Thornes JE (2013) Predicting Demand through Climate Data, Ambulance
Today, 4 (10), 39-42
[3]http://www.weather-uk.com/hampstead/data.htm
London Ambulance Service compiles an illness category for each Category A (life threatening) incident. Triaged Cat A illness data for 4505 days (3,677,454 incidents) between the 1st April 2001 and the end of July 2013 has been examined for a study on the impact of extreme weather and climate on LAS operations [1,2]. As part of this study a number of very significant asthma peaks have been identified - which may also be related to thunderstorm activity in London. The average daily number of asthma incidents across London is close to 24 (about 3% of Cat A calls). On the following dates, associated with thunderstorm activity recorded at Hampstead in London [3], the following number of asthma incidents were recorded:
06/08/2002 100 cases (22% of Cat A incidents) 17/06/2003 63 cases (14% of Cat A incidents) 24/06/2005 136 cases (30% of Cat A incidents) 25/06/2005 149 cases (33% of Cat A incidents) 13/06/2006 89 cases (20% of Cat A incidents) 16/06/2009 112 cases (25% of Cat A incidents) 23/07/2013 34 cases ( 8% of Cat A incidents)
Further analysis of the thunderstorm locations and timings are currently being examined and it will be interesting to see if these peaks are linked to other factors such as pollen/fungal spore levels.
[1]Thornes JE (2013) The Impact of Extreme Weather and Climate Change on Ambulance Incidents and Response Times in London: Pilot Report for the London Ambulance Service. [2] Thornes JE (2013) Predicting Demand through Climate Data, Ambulance Today, 4 (10), 39-42 [3]http://www.weather-uk.com/hampstead/data.htm
Conflict of Interest:
None declared