North West Ambulance Service declares a major incident as dozens of 999 calls are left on hold with crews ‘run ragged’ after ‘several paramedics isolated due to coronavirus’
- North West Ambulance Service covers areas including Greater Manchester
- People waiting for ambulance told not to call 999 back to see how far away it is
- Staff working for NWAS agreed to go without breaks for a two hour period
- In Greater Manchester, there are 127 ‘active calls’ and 295 waiting, sources said
North West Ambulance Service has declared a ‘major incident’ due to an exceptionally high volume of calls.
The service – which covers areas including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria – has urged those with non life-threatening injuries to take themselves to hospital or seek other care.
People waiting for an ambulance have been told not to call 999 back to see how far away help is – but can call to say they no longer need an ambulance if necessary.
Staff working for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) agreed to go without breaks for a two-hour period to tackle the mountain of call ins.
In Greater Manchester alone, there are 127 ‘active calls’ and 295 people waiting to get through, sources told Manchester Evening News.
The service is said to be struggling as several paramedics are isolating due to Covid-19.
North West Ambulance Service has declared a ‘major incident’ (the service’s social media, pictured) due to an exceptionally high volume of calls
The service – which covers areas including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria – has urged those with non life-threatening injuries to take themselves to hospital or seek other care
Ambulance union bosses have urged people seeking help to ‘only call if you really need to’
Ambulance union bosses have urged people seeking help to ‘only call if you really need to’.
They said crews across the North East are being ‘run ragged’.
NWAS Unison secretary Jeff Gorman told the local paper that it is the first time the service has ever dealt with a situation like this one.
He said: ‘It’s very extreme. I have been here for 30 years and I have never known anything like this. They don’t declare a major incident easily.’
An NWAS spokesperson said: ‘North West Ambulance Service has declared a major incident due to the high level of activity in the North West region, in particular the Greater Manchester area. For enquiries relating to this incident, please follow our Twitter site @NWAmbulance and our Facebook page.
People waiting for an ambulance have been told not to call 999 back to see how far away help is – but can call to say they no longer need an ambulance if necessary (file image)
‘If your call is not life-threatening, you may be asked if you can seek an alternative source of care or make your way to hospital by alternate means.
‘You can help us reach the patients that urgently need our help by not calling 999 unless the condition is life-threatening or potentially life-threatening, not calling us to find out where your ambulance is or calling to cancel any ambulance that you no longer require or feel is necessary.
‘We are trying our best to reach patients as soon as we possibly can and apologise for any delays in our response. Please bear with us. For medical advice, please go to 111 online.’