Following a difficult few days and a period of sustained and significant demand, South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) declared a critical incident at 10:40pm yesterday (June 25),
At the point of declaration there were a significant number of outstanding calls waiting for an ambulance response, including a number of higher acuity incidents.
This follows one of the busiest days of this year, alongside ongoing pressure across the wider health and care system and additional demand linked to the current hot weather.
Strategic Commander, James Pavey, said: “By declaring a critical incident, it allows our teams to focus our efforts on those patients who need us most. We are therefore focusing our resources on life‑threatening emergencies.
“People contacting us with less serious conditions are likely to experience longer waits. In some cases, patients may be clinically assessed and advised to seek alternative care, rather than an ambulance being dispatched.
“We are asking the public to support us during this time by only calling 999 in a life‑threatening emergency.”
If you need medical help but it is not an emergency, please consider using NHS 111 online or by phone, or seeking help from a GP, pharmacist or urgent treatment centre.
While the heat is expected to dissipate in the next few days, SECAmb expects demand to remain high and will continue to put in place all possible measures to ensure it can return to a normal service as quickly as possible.
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