Oxfordshire ambulance service ‘critical incident’ declared

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) declared a critical incident at 11.30am today, Thursday, June 25, due to a ‘significant’ increase in response times amid the extreme heatwave.

Temperatures in Oxfordshire were forecast to hit 34C in Oxfordshire today as The Met Office issued a red ‘danger to life’ warning in the record-breaking weather.

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An increased demand for services and more acute patient needs, as well as pressure on other NHS services which puts more demand on emergency departments, has contributed to massive pressure on the ambulance service.

Declaring a critical incident means the service can focus resources on patients most in need of help and redirect capacity across the NHS Trust to address the contributing factors.

Mark Ainsworth, executive director of operations at SCAS, said: “We continue to prioritise patients with the most serious injuries and illnesses, and our staff and volunteers are working extremely hard through the heat.

“We recognise that response times are longer than they should be and that’s why we’ve called the incident, to ensure everything possible is being done to improve the position.”

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SCAS said it has put a ‘critical incident response cell’ in action to prioritise services, maximised crew capacity with additional shifts and overtime, and has stood down operational staff from any non-essential work to take on frontline shifts.

The service has asked people to follow advice on coping in a heatwave, don’t take unnecessary risks – particularly around water – and consider contacting health care services other than 999 for non-life threatening issues.

If hospital is needed but a patient can get there by other means, they are asked not to call an ambulance.