East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has escalated to Level 4 of its Resource Escalation Action Plan. This is the highest alert level, and reflects a sustained extreme pressure on its service.
An increased number of 999 calls; patients waiting for a response in the community; and significant patient handover delays at hospitals are all affecting service delivery and increasing the risk to patient safety.
To provide the fastest possible response to patients in the community experiencing life-threatening emergencies, EMAS is:
– Introducing a ‘hear and treat’ system, staffed by experienced clinicians, to triage patients to identify alternative services for their needs
– Taking fewer, or a similar number of, patients to hospital than normal
– Deploying more ambulance resource than ever before.
To fully support these initiatives, it is vital that people only call 999 in life-threatening emergencies. When it’s not life-threatening, please call NHS111 instead.