Ambulance service serving Northamptonshire declares first critical incident amid growing pressure in hospitals

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), which serves Northamptonshire, as well as Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, declared a critical incident at 6pm on Monday (January 6).

The declaration is in response to flooding across the region, which is particularly bad in Leicestershire, and pressure within hospitals.

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said: “EMAS has put out more ambulance resource than ever before. However, the combination of significant patient demand, pressure within local hospitals, and flooding across the East Midlands, have led to this level of escalation.

“This is the first time that East Midlands Ambulance Service has declared a critical incident."

Declaring a critical incident includes a formal ask of partner services to take immediate action to help mitigate the risk for people in the communities.

EMAS is asking for rapid release of ambulances from hospital departments, as well as local NHS Clinical Hubs to take Category 3 calls from EMAS and provide support and/or a local alternative NHS pathway for these patients. This allows EMAS to focus on responding to Category 1 (life-threatening) and Category 2 (serious) calls.

The EMAS spokesperson added: “Like many across the NHS, EMAS colleagues have been working tirelessly to respond to patient need. All internal actions and options to mitigate risk have been exhausted; therefore, a critical incident has been called to ensure mutual aid to support delivery of emergency and urgent patient care.”

The public is asked to help by using NHS services wisely and by taking regular medication to manage long-term conditions. If illness or injury is not immediately life-threatening, residents are asked to seek alternative care via a pharmacy, urgent treatment centre, or general practitioner (including out of hours services). Services near you can be found on the NHS website.

The EMAS spokesperson continued: “Given the additional weather-related pressures being responded to by emergency services across the East Midlands, please act responsibly and do not take unnecessary risks.”

Northampton General Hospital is also warning people to stay away if they have flu-like symptoms, diarrhoea and vomiting, as winter bugs continue to spread.