Ambulance alert after hot weather increases demand

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has declared a business continuity incident due to an increasing demand for emergency care, partly as a result of the hot weather.

It was declared at 19:15 BST on Tuesday following "sustained pressure" on EMAS services across the region, and means services may be disrupted below expected levels.

Declaring a business continuity incident also allows EMAS to take additional steps to ensure ambulance crews are available to respond to patients where life is at risk.

In a statement, the trust said: "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."

EMAS said demand for emergency care had increased in recent days as a result of the hot weather and wider pressures being experienced across the NHS.

The trust added: "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."

EMAS said 999 should "always be used when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk", but urged people with non-life-threatening conditions to choose other NHS services, such as urgent treatment centres, GP surgeries and pharmacies.

In addition to declaring the business continuity incident, EMAS has also escalated its Resource Escalation Action Plan to Level 4 - the highest level which indicates a potential for failures within the service.

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