Outbreak of more winter bugs spark rise in 999 calls

SECAmb is taking action to safeguard patient care while the number of emergency calls continues to increase.

A number of measures are being put in place to manage the increased demand which include extra front-line crews on the road dealing with emergency calls and clinically-trained staff will be redeployed to areas of increased 999 calls.

SECAmb usually receives around 500,000 999 calls annually across Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

During the last few weeks the trust has received more than 4,000 more 999 calls in December this year compared with last year which equates to a 15 per cent increase in demand for the emergency service.

Sue Harris, director of operations at SECAmb, said: "The public can also help us by considering whether their call is urgent and requires an immediate medical response.

"We want people to call us if there is a genuine medical emergency but, for more minor complaints, we ask the public to consider if another NHS service such as NHS Direct or a minor injuries unit would be more appropriate."

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