Appeal to public as ambulance service remains in Critical Incident status

As reported patient demand, pressure within local hospitals, and flooding across the East Midlands, has led to this level of escalation for the first time in its history.

The emergency service is now appealing to the public to help ease the demand by only calling for an ambulance in emergencies.

The Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response framework describes a critical incident as: ‘any localised incident where the level of disruption results in the organisation temporarily or permanently losing its ability to deliver critical services, patients may have been harmed or the environment is not safe requiring special measures and support from other agencies, to restore normal functions’.

Like many across the NHS, EMAS states colleagues have been working tirelessly to respond to patient need.

"All internal actions and options to mitigate risk have been exhausted; therefore, a critical incident has been called to ensure mutual aid to support delivery of emergency and urgent patient care,” the emergency service said.

“The public is asked to help by using NHS services wisely and by taking regular medication to manage long-term conditions.

"If your illness or injury is not immediately life-threatening, please seek alternative care via a pharmacy, urgent treatment centre, or general practitioner (including out of hours services).”

Visit the NHS website for services near you: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/services-near-you/