Welsh Ambulance 'critical incident' declared amid long delays
Handovers at hospitals causing long waits for paramedic callouts
Last updated 31st Dec 2024
The Welsh Ambulance Service has declared a ‘critical incident’ because of significantly increased demand across the 999 service and extensive hospital handover delays.
Demand on the 999 service is currently very high, with more than 340 calls waiting to be answered at the time the critical incident was declared, on the evening of Monday 30 December.
In addition, more than half of the Trust’s ambulance vehicles were waiting to handover patients outside hospitals.
As a result, some patients had waited, and were continuing to wait, many hours for an ambulance, while it was also taking longer to answer calls.
As part of its critical incident plan, the Trust says it took additional measures to ensure it can continue to deliver a service to the public and alleviate the pressure on the service.
Stephen Sheldon, Head of Service, said: “It is very rare that we declare a critical incident, but with significant demand on our service and more than 90 ambulances waiting to handover patients outside of hospital, our ability to help patients has been impacted.
“Regrettably, this means that some patients will wait longer for an ambulance to arrive and for their calls to be answered.
“For that, we are very sorry because this is not the level of service we want to provide.
'Protect precious resources'
“We understand that this is frustrating for patients, but can assure them that we are doing everything we can to relieve the pressure on our service.
“The public can help by only calling 999 in the event of a life-threatening emergency - that’s a cardiac arrest, chest pain or breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking, or catastrophic bleeding.
"Very challenging times across the health service"
“If it's not a life-threatening emergency, then it’s important you use one 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.
“We must protect our precious resources for those who need them the most.
“Our staff and volunteers are doing a brilliant job under difficult circumstances, and we cannot thank them enough for their hard work during these very challenging times across the health service.”
Meanwhile, Morriston Hospital in Swansea says A&E is extremely busy, with rising numbers of flu cases not helping.
Swansea Bay’s interim director of nursing and patient experience, Hazel Powell, said: “Seasonal flu is affecting patients on several wards and infection prevention actions are being taken.
“Our local community can help us avoid outbreaks by not visiting family and friends in hospital if feeling unwell.
“Annual flu vaccination is also undoubtedly the best way to protect you against catching or spreading flu."
The problems in Swansea are mirrored in the Welsh capital, with University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff issuing a warning on 29 December that it was under "extreme pressure".