Ambulance trusts declare critical incidents amid “unprecedented” and “sustained” pressure

Three ambulance trusts in England have declared critical incidents this week as the NHS struggles to deal with winter pressures and rising demand because of covid-19, norovirus, and influenza.Making its announcement on 19 December, North East Ambulance Service said it had declared a critical incident as a result of “unprecedented pressure impacting its ability to respond to patients.” It said there had been “significant delays for more than 200 patients” waiting on ambulances, while ambulance crews have been held up because of handover delays at the region’s hospitals.1Meanwhile, East of England Ambulance Service said it declared an incident after “huge pressure as a consequence of 999 call volumes and hospital handover delays,”2 and South East Coast Ambulance Service said it had experienced “more than a week of sustained pressure across both our 999 and 111 services which has significantly impacted on our ability to respond to patients.”3Stephen Segasby, chief operating…
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