Welsh Ambulance Service declares critical incident amid increased demand

The Welsh Ambulance Service has apologised to patients after increased demand and handover delays saw some people waiting many hours for care.

The service declared a critical incident on Monday evening after more than 340 calls were waiting to be answered and ambulances were left waiting outside hospitals.

A critical incident is the highest alert level used and allows NHS bosses to take immediate steps to create capacity.

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Revellers

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Chief executive Jason Killens said New Year’s Eve revellers in Wales could help the Ambulance Service by drinking in moderation this evening.

"People out celebrating can help us tonight by of course, having a good time, but drinking sensibly, eating before they go out and looking after their friends," he said.

Asked about the cause of the increased demand, he said: "This pressure across the health system is a result of flu and Covid and other respiratory viruses circulating through the winter.

"What we have seen in the last 24 to 48 hours is an acute accumulation of those pressures.

"The pressure for us continues this morning, we had a very busy day yesterday.

"I want to apologise to patients who waited too long yesterday and continue to wait this morning.

"Overnight we’ve had similar numbers of patients waiting far too long… I expect that will continue through to this evening."

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'Better'

Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, James Evans MS says frontline workers deserve better.

He said: "Another critical incident declared by the Welsh Ambulance Service with over 340 calls waiting, ambulances stuck outside hospitals, and patients waiting hours for care.

"This is not just a winter crisis, it is a symptom of long term failures in Labour-run Wales. Patients and frontline workers deserve better.

"It’s time for real leadership to fix this problem once and for all."

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'Rare'

Stephen Sheldon, head of service, said: "It is very rare that we declare a critical incident, but with significant demand on our service and more than 90 ambulances waiting to handover patients outside of hospital, our ability to help patients has been impacted.

"Regrettably, this means that some patients will wait longer for an ambulance to arrive and for their calls to be answered. For that, we are very sorry because this is not the level of service we want to provide.

"We understand that this is frustrating for patients, but can assure them that we are doing everything we can to relieve the pressure on our service.

"The public can help by only calling 999 in the event of a life-threatening emergency - that’s a cardiac arrest, chest pain or breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking, or catastrophic bleeding.

"If it's not a life-threatening emergency, then it’s important you use one of the many alternatives to 999, starting with the symptom checkers on our NHS 111 Wales website as well as your GP, pharmacist, and Minor Injuries Unit. We must protect our precious resources for those who need them the most."