SW Ambulance Service declares critical incident

Extreme pressures making responses difficult

The trust that runs the  South Western Ambulance Service has declared a critical incident.

It comes after nearly 500 patients were waiting for an ambulance at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the day after the Christmas bank holiday.

Just over 100 more patients were in ambulances waiting to be handed over to hospital teams.

Now the service is appealing to the public to think carefully before dialling 999 due to the extreme demand it is facing.

The critical incident has been called because the trust is experiencing pressure affecting its ability to respond to patients.

Its deputy director of operations Wayne Darch said: “We are doing all we can to manage these winter pressures and we are sorry that we are unable to respond to some patients as quickly as we would like. We will get to you as soon as we can.

“Please do not call back simply to ask for an estimated time of arrival of an ambulance. We cannot provide one, and it blocks our lines for other callers.

Which service to access"

Self-care – visit NHS 111 online for self-care advice for things like grazed knees, coughs and colds
Pharmacy – visit your local pharmacy for headaches, upset stomachs, aches and pains
NHS 111 – visit NHS 111 online or call 111 for advice and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week
GP – call your GP for symptoms that won’t go away
Minor injury unit – attend your local minor injuries unit for urgent but not life-threatening conditions and injuries such as sprains, fractures and burns
999 – call 999 for life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, fits that aren’t stopping, chest pain, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, severe allergic reactions, suspected stroke and serious head injuries.