Christmas lunches for Welsh Ambulance Service staff thanks to generosity of pubs and restaurants

Welsh Ambulance Service staff working on Christmas Day will get to enjoy a traditional festive lunch thanks to the generosity of pubs and restaurants across Wales.

Twenty three restaurants from all corners of the country have agreed to prepare mouth-watering Christmas meals for almost 600 members of staff as a goodwill gesture for those working on December 25.

Colleagues across more than 80 ambulance stations and five control rooms working a day shift will get to enjoy a lunch, about half of which are completely free of charge.

It includes staff in the Emergency Medical Service, Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service, Make Ready Depots and Clinical Contact Centres, including 111 and NHS Direct Wales colleagues.

Individually packaged lunches will either be delivered or collected on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on the area and the pub or restaurant preparing the meal.

Director of Operations Lee Brooks said: “We’ve been organising Christmas lunches for the last couple years now and they’re always gratefully received, but it’s especially meaningful now given the difficult year that’s been.

“Once again, we’re enormously grateful to all of the pubs, hotels and restaurants who have kindly agreed to support us. It means a huge deal.

“As an ambulance service, we operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, which means that not everyone will be able to enjoy a Christmas dinner at home with their loved ones.

“This is a small gesture to thank our people on Christmas Day, and I hope it demonstrates on behalf of the organisation and our patients how grateful we are to colleagues for the service they provide – now more than ever.”