Ambulance service declares 'major incident' after snow causes spike in demand

The East of England Ambulance Service faced one of the busiest days of the year yesterday (10th December) following the snowy conditions across the region.

Staff received almost 4,400 calls - an increase of more than 20% from the same time last year.

The Trust declared an internal major incident and all available staff were responding to 999 calls.

Chief Executive Officer Robert Morton said: “The conditions we experienced yesterday were extreme and we would like to thank the public for being patient with our responses.

“We had to prioritise life-threatening calls and the most seriously ill patients, and our call handlers had to let those calling about less serious incidents know they could wait a very long time for an ambulance and to consider an alternative if it was not a life-threatening emergency.”

The most affected areas for the ambulance service were Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and West Essex.

Mr Morton added: “Every single member of EEAST has worked incredibly hard and is continuing to do so.

“Some members of staff came in on their days off and others worked many hours on from the end of their shift and responding so compassionately to those who need us most in the community to make sure our patients got the best possible care they could.”

Just before 10am today (11th December) the Trust stood down internal major incident status but is still urging the public to take care in icy conditions, check on vulnerable neighbours and choose wisely about which NHS service they require.