Drink sensibly on New Years Eve struggling ambulance service says

An under-pressure ambulance service has urged New Year’s Eve revellers to drink in moderation to help reduce demand on resources.

The Welsh Ambulance Service declared a critical incident on Monday evening, and said more than 340 calls were waiting to be answered, with problems set to continue.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, chief executive Jason Killens said: “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.”

On Monday, more than half of the trust’s ambulances were waiting to hand over patients outside hospitals, leading to some people waiting “many hours” for an ambulance.

“I want to apologise to patients who waited too long yesterday and continue to wait this morning,” Mr Killens said.

The service has urged the public to call 999 only for serious emergencies.

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.”

Speaking on Monday, head of service Stephen Sheldon said: “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.”

Christian Hadfield, assistant chief fire officer of the South Wales Fire Service, said: “As one of the emergency services in South Wales we are ready to support colleagues in Wales Ambulance Service Trust to protect people in our communities.

“We support only calling 999 for serious emergencies and where life is at risk – with the pressure on the NHS and the yellow weather warning for Wales over the coming days we expect demand for emergency services to be high.

“We have briefed our staff that we will do what we can to support the ambulance teams and have put a process in place to assess requests and decisions for deployment for calls that go beyond our statutory duty.

“We have also advised staff attending healthcare settings to wear face masks to help protect vulnerable patients.”

Published: 31/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub