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| Welsh Ambulance Service declares critical incident | Welsh Ambulance Service declares critical incident |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The Welsh Ambulance Service declare a "very rare" critical incident as demand soars | |
| The Welsh Ambulance Service has declared a critical incident because of increased demand across the 999 service and extensive hospital handover delays. | |
| It said more than 340 calls were waiting to be answered across Wales at the time the critical incident was declared on Monday evening. | It said more than 340 calls were waiting to be answered across Wales at the time the critical incident was declared on Monday evening. |
| In addition, more than half of the Trust's ambulance vehicles were waiting to handover patients outside hospitals. | In addition, more than half of the Trust's ambulance vehicles were waiting to handover patients outside hospitals. |
| The service is urging the public to call 999 only for serious emergencies as some patients continue to wait many hours for an ambulance. | The service is urging the public to call 999 only for serious emergencies as some patients continue to wait many hours for an ambulance. |
| The trust said it has taken additional measures to ensure it can continue to deliver a service to the public. | |
| Head of service at the trust, Stephen Sheldon, said 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," Mr Sheldon added. | "That's a cardiac arrest, chest pain or breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking, or catastrophic bleeding," Mr Sheldon added. |
| The service is advising the public to visit the NHS 111 Wales website for health advice or to consult a GP, pharmacist, and minor injuries unit. | The service is advising the public to visit the NHS 111 Wales website for health advice or to consult a GP, pharmacist, and minor injuries unit. |
| The service describes the situation as "very rare". | |
| A critical incident was also declared in December 2020, due to high demand, particularly in south east Wales. | |
| But an extraordinary incident was declared in 2023 after an ambulance spent more than 28 hours outside a hospital. | |
| The Welsh Ambulance Service said 16 ambulances had waited outside the emergency department at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, at one time. |