East Midlands Ambulance Service (Emas) has declared its first ever critical incident as much of the county is hit by flooding. The incident came into effect at 6pm yesterday evening (Monday, January 6), with the service saying it has “put out more ambulance resource than ever before”.
Emas has been at tipping point since late November when the trust upgraded its action plan to level four – the highest level. Level four warns of the “potential for failures within the service” as a result of pressures on it, Emas said.
However, yesterday’s widespread flooding has wreaked havoc across the county and added to strain locally. The trust, which covers the whole of the Midlands, said a “the combination of significant patient demand, pressure within local hospitals, and flooding ” and is the reason for the critical incident being declared.
READ MORE:Live Leicestershire flooding updates amid ‘danger to life’ warning
By escalating to this stage, Emas can call on other healthcare partners, including hospitals and integrated care boards which oversee healthcare in an area, to take “immediate action to help mitigate the risk for people”. This includes rapid release of ambulances from outside A&E departments, and Clinical Hubs taking on patients who ring Emas and are classed as category three.
Category three calls are considered urgent but not life-threatening and can include falls, abdominal pain and overdoses which do not have immediate life-threatening signs or symptoms. Emas has also issued some advice to local residents.
A spokesman said: “Like many across the NHS, EMAS colleagues have been working tirelessly to respond to patient need. All internal actions and options to mitigate risk have been exhausted; therefore, a critical incident has been called to ensure mutual aid to support delivery of emergency and urgent patient care. The public is asked to help by using NHS services wisely and by taking regular medication to manage long-term conditions. If your illness or injury is not immediately life-threatening, please seek alternative care via a pharmacy, urgent treatment centre, or general practitioner (including out of hours services) – visit the NHS website for services near you.
“Given the additional weather-related pressures being responded to by emergency services across the East Midlands, please act responsibly and do not take unnecessary risks.”
LeicestershireLive has approached Emas for an update on the critical incident this morning (Tuesday, January 7).