Ambulance service declares incident amid spike in demand across Derbyshire during heatwave – with residents urged to help ease pressure
The ambulance service has declared an incident amid a spike in demand for their services during the heatwave that has hit Derbyshire – with residents urged to play their part to help alleviate this pressure.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) declared a business continuity incident at 7.15pm on Tuesday, May 26, following sustained pressure on its services across the region. In recent days,
Demand for emergency care has increased in recent days, with the hot weather contributing to this, alongside wider pressures being experienced across the NHS.
A business continuity incident is declared when services may be disrupted and additional arrangements are required to maintain patient care.
Declaring a business continuity incident allows EMAS to take additional steps, working closely with NHS partners, to help ensure ambulance crews are available to respond to patients in the community.
This includes:
Supporting the timely handover of patients at hospital emergency departments, so ambulance crews can return to responding to 999 calls.
Working with healthcare providers to ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate care.
Continuing to prioritise the most life-threatening and serious incidents.
This is to ensure emergency ambulances are available to respond to people in the community where life is at risk.
A spokesperson for EMAS said: “We recognise this is challenging for our NHS partners, who are also working under significant pressure, and we are grateful for their continued support.
“Alongside this, EMAS is maximising available resources and reviewing how ambulance crews are deployed across the region.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely, with a focus on maintaining safe patient care and returning to normal service levels as soon as possible.”
Members of the public are asked to support EMAS during this period of high demand, by adhering to the following pieces of advice:
999 should always be used when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
If your condition is not life-threatening, there are other NHS services available that may be able to help you.
These include:
NHS 111 online or by phone.
Local pharmacies.
Urgent Treatment Centres.
Your GP (including out-of-hours services).
Choosing the most appropriate service helps ensure that ambulance crews are available for those who may need them most.