The chief executive of the acute trust in the Midlands told the HSJ: “We had a very, very challenging handover night last night, possibly the worst ever – and it’s only July.”
South Central Ambulance Service – which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire – said it had declared a critical incident on Monday due to ongoing pressures and there would be delays in responding to patients with “less urgent needs”.
NHS trusts said many people are struggling to cope with high levels of staff absence from Covid, at the height of the heatwave.
The HSJ reported that 111 services were also hit by a high number of Covid-related absences and high demand, meaning that in places over the weekend in London three out of 10 calls went unanswered.
The South Central Ambulance Service said it had escalated to Reap 4 due to “an increase in Covid infections as well as other respiratory illnesses, both among staff and in our communities”.
It added that increasing numbers of 999 calls and high temperatures were also key factors.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service – which covers Surrey, Kent and West and East Sussex – escalated to Reap 4 on Monday, saying the incident was called after “sustained pressure both on our service and the wider system”. with hot weather factor.
The HSJ has been told that Covid absences are affecting many of the trusts’ ambulance crews and staff have been offered incentive payments for extra hours.
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