The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has been forced to extend its critical incident status as extreme demand fuels fears for patient safety.
The emergency measures were announced yesterday afternoon (December 19) after NEAS said its ability to respond to patients was being severely impacted due to unprecedented pressure, with more than 200 people experiencing delays while waiting for an ambulance.
And bosses confirmed this afternoon the critical incident will continue as the demand shows no sign of easing.
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“It is a signal to the wider system for a request for help, because at the moment we are concerned for our patients,” an NEAS spokesman said.
“We need to get the message out to the public that we will always be here but if your symptoms or conditions aren’t life threatening then we are asking people to visit www.111.nhs.co.uk, visit their pharmacist or speak to their GP.
“We really do need to get the numbers down, but if people have life-threatening conditions then please call an ambulance.”
Despite the pressures faced by the service, bosses insisted the critical incident was not due to industrial action by paramedics, which will start tomorrow.
“This is a result of a build up from the past few weeks rather than strikes. We often see demand go up at this time of year anyway but it never really came down from last year,” the spokesman said.
“We have seen in the NEAS that life-threatening calls have increased. We just have not been able to keep up with demand.”
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