NHS: Critical incident declared by South Central Ambulance Service following surge of emergency calls

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) said the critical status is the first they have had to issue in more than a year. The trust made a post on Facebook yesterday that the service was "extremely busy" and patients dialling 999 that did not have "serious or life-threatening emergency requiring an immediate response" were likely to be directed to alternative care services.

The ambulance service added that the status was declared due to the severity of emergencies, rather than the volume of calls - with 70 per cent being in the two most urgent categories of attention. According to NHS England, category two calls are for serious conditions which do not pose an immediate risk to life.

This includes heart attacks, strokes, or people suffering from major burns or sepsis. For incidents like these, urgent attention and rapid transportation is required. The response time for these incidents is usually within 18 minutes. Pressures from 999 calls were intensified by handover delays at acute hospitals across the region the ambulance service covers.

This includes Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The critical incident was declared at 4.20pm yesterday afternoon. SCAS appeal to patients to call NHS 111 when it's appropriate.