The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) is ‘establishing its current position’ after issuing an urgent warning to members of the public on 999 calls and apologising for delays.
The service issued a plea last night (December 12) asking members of the public to only call the emergency line if absolutely necessary. Bosses also apologised for delays, as they said the service was extremely stretched across the region.
NWAS chiefs said that at 5pm yesterday, more than 600 poorly patients were waiting for an ambulance across the North West. At the same time, another 100 emergency vehicles were parked outside of hospitals waiting to take patients inside.
'Severe weather and hospital handover delays' were just some of the factors having an impact on the service. All clinically-trained staff were called to the front line, with private providers also called in.
This morning, the Manchester Evening News asked NWAS for an update on the status of the blue light service following the pleas. Officials said they are ‘establishing our current position on this’, with more information understood to be coming shortly.
In a sobering statement uploaded to the service's social media pages last night, Dr Chris Grant said: "This is an urgent message for the public across the whole of the North West. Tonight, across both our 111 and 999 services, we're seeing a really significant demand and I apologise for the delay in getting care to you but I do need your help.
"We've called in all our operational and clinical resources to make sure we prioritise those who have the most life-threatening conditions. We need to keep our phone lines free so please only call us back if you no longer need our help or if your own condition has got significantly worse. Thanks for your support."
Ged Blezard, director of operations at NWAS said: "Please only call 999 if someone has a serious illness or injury, you think their life is at risk, and you cannot get them to hospital by any other means. We know there are patients waiting for our help and we are sorry that we are unable to respond as quickly as we would like.
"Please be assured that we will get to you as soon as we can. The public can help us by only calling 999 for life-threatening emergencies.
"We cannot stress enough that our ambulance crews are reserved for the most life-threatening cases and these incidents will be prioritised. Please do not call 999 to check on ambulance arrival times, we cannot answer this question, and this blocks the line for other calls trying to get through.
"For all other health concerns, it is likely we will direct you to alternative services, so please help us by first checking your symptoms at 111.nhs.uk and call on friends or relatives for transport if necessary."
The latest turmoil comes ahead of impending industrial action, as paramedics, call handlers, emergency care assistants and other ambulance workers have voted in their masses to strike. Paramedics previously told the M.E.N they are braced for criticism for striking as the NHS heads into a difficult winter, but that patient safety will only continue to decline if nothing is done.
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