The NHS ambulance trust that serves Brighton and Hove has declared a “critical incident” after a week of “sustained pressure” and with a strike looming.
The move should enable the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) to focus on only those patients in the greatest need and seek help from other trusts as well as non-NHS providers.
Those non-NHS providers could include taxis, the St John Ambulance charity and community first responders.
It should also mean that all training can be cancelled to allow for the redeployment of all clinical staff.
Secamb is one three NHS ambulance trusts to have declared critical incidents, with thousands of GMB members due to strike tomorrow (Wednesday 21 December).
Today, the ambulance trust said: “Secamb took a decision yesterday evening (Monday 19 December), to declare a critical incident.
“This decision was taken following a period of more than a week of sustained pressure across both our 999 and 111 services which has significantly impacted on our ability to respond to patients.
“We would like to thank all our staff and volunteers for their hard work and commitment in recent days in what continue to be extremely challenging circumstances.
“We urge the public to continue to call 999 in life-threatening emergencies as we prioritise our response to our most seriously ill and injured patients.
“People can continue to support us by seeking help and advice from alternatives including via NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk, their own GP or by speaking to a pharmacist.
“Declaring a critical incident provides us with additional oversight and enables us to explore options including mutual aid, while focusing all efforts on frontline patient care.
“The situation will be kept under close review.”
Another ambulance trust said: “We are asking the public to call us only in a life-threatening emergency.”
According to the Financial Times: “Under an agreement struck between South East Coast Ambulance Service and the GMB union, striking workers may be asked to respond to certain calls if others are unable to cover them, according to people briefed on the deal.
“These calls would include going to the aid of elderly people who have been on the floor for more than four hours after a fall as well as stroke and cardiac incidents where treatment was time-critical.”
The government accepted the recommendations of the independent review body in July, giving most NHS staff in England a flat-rate pay rise of £1,400, backdated to April.
This represented an increase of about 4 per cent in the average basic pay of workers, the FT said.
Hospital bosses are understood to be preparing for the strike by ambulance workers by cancelling a significant amount of “elective” surgery so that more clinicians are available.
