Extra staff on duty and every available vehicle on road, but demand on the service is severe
The South Western Ambulance Service is struggling under the pressure of high demand over the festive period, with around 3,000 calls a day since Christmas Day. Saturday has been "incredibly busy" with calls up 15 per cent on last year.
They're asking people to think before calling 999, which is for emergencies only. They've described these as "conditions including cardiac arrest, choking, severe chest pain, suspected stroke, serious blood loss and unconsciousness."
The service says: “Since we must prioritise our available resources to respond to the most critically ill patients, this means that some less poorly patients may experience considerable waits for a response during this very busy period. We would like to apologise for this – please be assured that we are doing our best to reach everyone as soon as we can."
They also ask people to look after themselves and others so that conditions don't escalate and become emergencies unnecessarily.
The non-emergency number for the NHS is 111.
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