Watch out! There’s a matron about!

Matron – NHS North West’s virtual character will be observing the party habits of Manchester this weekend, when she hitches a ride with the North West Ambulance Service on Saturday night

Matron – NHS North West’s virtual character will be observing the party habits of Manchester this weekend, when she hitches a ride with the North West Ambulance Service on Saturday night (15 December 2012) and you can join her via Twitter!

Traditionally one of the busiest party nights of the year, Matron will see for herself the types of incidents the ambulance service deals with when thousands descend upon the city centre to celebrate the festive season and will tweet her observations and matronly advice throughout the night.

She comments: "On the same night last year, the ambulance service dealt with lots of incidents which could have been avoided and all ended up in the accident and emergency department. Slips and trips, feeling the chill from not wearing appropriate clothing and overdoing it at the bar can all lead to injuries which can spoil a night out and puts additional pressures on an already busy service.

"I like a cheeky glass of wine myself and I’m no party pooper but all things in moderation and we should take care when out and about at night, especially in this icy weather!"

Matron will join Paramedic Paul O’Neill on his city centre based rapid response vehicle from 8pm and will accompany him as he is sent to incidents throughout the night, but watch out for some tips earlier in the day as she offers advice to those heading for a night on the town.

She adds: "I know my daughter Amy is meeting her friends for a night out and she wears heels so high, she’s forever spraining her ankle and if I’ve told her to put on a coat once, I’ve told her a thousand times. Alcohol can lower your body’s temperature so in temperatures like these, it’s not unheard of for my ambulance friends to attend to people suffering from hypothermia during a night out."

You can follow Matron on her ambulance shift using the tag #tweetwell and view her Twitter profile via @MatronSays