Health trust’s warning as Wales swelters
PATIENTS were left waiting “hours” for an ambulance on the hottest day of the year after “extreme” demand overtook capacity, the Welsh Ambulance Service said yesterday.
Life-threatening “red calls” were up almost 30% on Monday compared to the same day last week, it revealed, as the service dealt with “extreme pressure” which saw the trust declare a “business continuity incident”.
It came as Wales continues to be hit by sweltering temperatures, which prompted the Met Office to issue its first-ever “extreme heat” amber warning earlier this week.
The warning, which lasts until the end of tomorrow, covers south Wales and parts of mid Wales, as well as south-west and central England.
Wales’ hottest temperature of the year so far was recorded in Cardiff on Monday, where a reading of 30.7°C was recorded. It marked the second time in 48 hours that
this year’s record had been broken, with Sunday’s high hitting 30.2°C in Cardiff’s Bute Park.
The blistering conditions have brought sun-seekers flocking to seaside hotspots around Wales.
But the conditions have also put a strain on the ambulance service.
In a warning yesterday the service said it has been receiving around 2,000 999 calls a day over the latest three-day period.
On Monday incidents were 9% higher than predicted, up 11% from last Monday and up 29% from the same Monday last year as temperatures reached 30°C in the capital.
Of those who called, the numberone reason was for breathing problems, followed by falls, with 9% of callers also experiencing chest pain.
The trust said “call volume, coupled with lengthy delays at hospitals across Wales, meant that demand on the service exceeded its capacity to respond”.
“As a result, some patients waited many hours for an ambulance,” the ambulance service added.
In total 516 hours were spent by ambulance crews at hospitals across Wales on Monday waiting to hand over patients.
To cope with demand, special measures were put in place including asking some patients to make an alternative arrangement, such as making their own way to hospital.
However, the service added that more than a fifth of 999 calls were in “green”, or low-acuity, categories and went on to be assessed by NHS 111 Wales, including a person with a fish hook in their foot, a person who had caught their finger in a juicer and a person with diarrhoea.
The Welsh Ambulance Service said:
■ Calls to patients with breathing problems were up by 37% when compared to the previous Monday;
■ Around 9% of callers were also experiencing chest pain and 7% reported feeling faint;
■ The number-one reason people called 999 on Monday was for breathing problems (13.4%) followed by falls (13.3%);
■ Immediately life-threatening “red” calls were up by 29% from the previous Monday, and up 175% from the same Monday last year; and
■ 516 hours were spent by ambulance crews at hospitals across Wales yesterday waiting to hand over patients.
The service asked people in Wales to only call 999 in an emergency where “a life is on the line” – such as cardiac arrests, chest pain or breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking or catastrophic bleeding.
Lee Brooks, director of operations, said: “It’s very rare that we declare a business continuity incident and it’s not a decision that we take lightly. It’s a sign of a serious situation.
“Monday’s heat coupled with the delays at hospitals meant we reached a point in the early evening where demand actually overtook our capacity to respond in a safe and timely way.
“For anyone who had an excessive wait for an ambulance on Monday, we are very sorry for your experience and this is not the service we want to provide.”
He said the service was in a “more stable position” yesterday, but it was “still experiencing extreme pressures right across Wales, and we need the public’s help”.
He added: “If it’s not a life-threatening emergency, then it’s important that you [make] use 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.”
Meanwhile, the Met Office outlined its thinking behind the issuing of the amber warning – the secondhighest level under its new extreme heat warning service launched in June.
Amber and red warnings can now be issued by the Met Office to inform the public of possible widespread disruption and adverse health effects from extreme heat.
Dr Will Lang, head of civil contingencies at the Met Office, said: “Extreme heat has obvious potential consequences health in the UK, especially for vulnerable groups, but continued impacts around transport infrastructure, energy consumption and coastal areas will also inform when extreme heat warnings are issued.”