East of England Ambulance Service declares critical incident amid ‘huge pressure’ from 999 calls

A critical incident has been declared by the East of England Ambulance Service due to pressure from 999 call volumes and hospital handover delays.

The service says people should only call 999 in life-threatening or serious injury situations.

A critical incident allows the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust to manage extreme demand.

The news comes as ambulance staff across the country begin strike action in a dispute over pay. No strike action will be held by workers within EEAST.

A spokesperson for EEAST said: “NHS services in the EEAST region are currently under huge pressure as a consequence of 999 call volumes and hospital handover delays.

“Declaring a critical incident means we can ensure our resources are focused on patients with the greatest need, as well as allow us to access wider support from our health and care partners.

“Our staff continue to work incredibly hard in challenging circumstances, to respond to calls and incidents as quickly as possible. If you need to contact us because of a life-threatening condition or serious injury, then call 999. For everything else, we would urge you to please use 111 online, speak to your GP or use a minor injuries centre.”

Being at critical incident allows the service to prioritise the sickest patients and those unable to make their own way to hospital, as well as allowing the cancellation of some staff meetings, training and assessment.

Hospitals and other NHS services will also be asked to release EEAST crews as a priority.

The ambulance service covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

The service was put on major incident standby in October. At the time it said it had been “experiencing very high demand for some time now”.

A backlog in the health and social care system, along with high demand for services, was blamed.