Ambulance trust asks people to take their own loved ones to hospital and only ring 999 'if they can't get there any other way'

13 December 2022, 19:46 | Updated: 13 December 2022, 19:50

An ambulance trust in England has asked locals to take members of their household to hospital themselves instead of calling 999.

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said people should only call them if they cannot get people to hospital "by any other means."

It comes as ambulance staff across the UK prepare to go on strike later this month over a pay dispute, with ambulance waiting times already very long.

One senior ambulance service boss said that "the wheels are coming off", with all ambulance trusts declaring their highest level of alert.

There will be taxis used as ambulances for non-urgent emergencies during strikes.

NWAS said on Monday that there were 600 people waiting for an ambulance, with the sudden freezing cold snap to blame for the backlog.

Some 100 ambulances were stuck outside hospitals with no way of dropping off patients in need of treatment, as the wards were already too full to take them in.

Ged Blezard, NWAS's director of operations said: "Please only call 999 if someone has a serious illness or injury, you think their life is at risk, and you cannot get them to hospital by any other means.

"We know there are patients waiting for our help and we are sorry that we are unable to respond as quickly as we would like. Please be assured that we will get to you as soon as we can."

This paramedic says her colleagues in control centres 'don't know where to send ambulances next'

Priority conditions that warrant a 999 call include cardiac arrest, losing consciousness, fits, chest pain, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, severe allergic reactions, burns and scalds, suspected strokes, and serious head injuries.

People who drive their own loved ones to the hospital have to stick to the rules of the road, such as stopping at red traffic lights, unlike ambulances.

Read more: Elderly people who fall over at home 'unlikely to get an ambulance' amid Christmas NHS strikes

Read more: Thousands of ambulance workers set to walk out over pay dispute in fresh strike

It comes after ambulance response times soared recently with category 2 calls - serious but not immediately life-threatening - taking an average of 48 minutes and eight seconds in November.

A senior ambulance executive told trade publication the Health Service Journal that "the wheels are falling off now, we’re in a really awful situation."