'Critical incident' declared at South Central Ambulance Service in Hampshire due to 'extreme pressures' as vehicles face long hospital queues in Portsmouth and elsewhere

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), which covers Portsmouth, issued the plea early this morning.

They issued a warning that they will prioritise patients with ‘life-threatening’ conditions.

It comes amid problems at Queen Alexandra Hospital, where ambulances were unable to transfer patients in the emergency department, on April 4.

Portsmouth City Council leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said the combined waiting time was 108 hours – caused by a lack of staff and beds.

These emergency vehicle hold ups slow down response times.

Mark Ainsworth, SCAS director of operations, said: ‘We declared a critical incident in the early hours of the morning due to extreme pressures across our services.

‘This was related to the level of demand with a large volume of calls being received throughout the day and into the night and increased challenges in releasing some of our ambulances from busy acute hospitals.

‘This then impacts our ability to get crews back on the road to respond to patients.’

A similar incident was also declared by SCAS on November 1, 2021, as ambulances were also seen queueing outside Queen Alexandra Hospital at the time.

The service covers seven million residents across Hampshire and other counties.

They are appealing to people to only use 999 in an emergency, and if possible, for people to make their own way to hospitals – if conditions are not life threatening.

A statement said: ‘SCAS has declared a critical incident due to extreme pressures across our services.

‘Our staff are working extremely hard to respond to calls and manage the situation and we continue to prioritise those patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses.

SEE ALSO: Healthcare staff across the south 'exhausted and demoralised' as more than 75% of Portsmouth NHS workers report not having enough colleagues to do their jobs properly

‘If your situation is not a life-threatening or serious emergency then we will discuss your needs and provide advice.

‘If your call does not require an emergency ambulance response then you could be asked to make your own way to hospital.

‘Declaring a critical incident means we are able to focus our resources on those patients most in need and communicates the pressures we are under to our patients and health system partners.

‘Please support us by using our services wisely and also utilising NHS 111 for urgent medical advice and guidance wherever possible and appropriate to do so.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.