999 only for emergencies

ALL AREAS: The South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) is still facing an ‘exceptionally busy’ time and people are being reminded to only call 999 for serious or life-threatening cases.

On Monday the service said its emergency control rooms were dealing with a high number of calls and were prioritising patients in a life-threatening condition.

This follows a surge in emergency calls over the festive season which saw nearly 2,000 people contact 999 on Boxing Day, a 12.4 per cent increase on last year.

A spokeswoman for SCAS said: “We would always encourage everyone to use NHS services for the right reason and in particular only access 999 services when the injury or illness is of a serious or life threatening nature.

“This is especially important at the current time when we are exceptionally busy across our area.

“If the injury is of a non-life threatening nature then it could be more appropriate to access GP, minor injuries, NHS 111 or your local pharmacy.”

Visit www.nhs.uk for further information on the services available.