The incident was declared yesterday when more than 100 patients were waiting for ambulances.
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has declared a critical incident due to unprecedented pressure on the service following the Christmas break.
An incident was declared on 27 December due to significant delays for more than 100 patients waiting for ambulances and a reduction in ambulance crew availability due to delays in handing over patients at hospitals in the region.
NEAS has been operating at its highest alert level over the Christmas break and has kept in place many of the actions from the previous critical incident declaration to cope with the extended bank holiday weekend.
It is the second time in nine days that NEAS has declared a critical incident due to unprecedented pressure across the health and social care system.
Focusing resources.
NEAS strategic commander Shane Woodhouse thanked the hardworking staff and volunteers for their efforts and commitment during this challenging time.
Mr Woodhouse explained, “This is the second time in nine days that we have declared a critical incident due to the unprecedented pressure we are seeing across the health system.
“Declaring a critical incident alerts our health system partners to provide support where they can and means we can focus our resources on those patients most in need.”
“The public should only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. For all other patients, we are urging them to use www.111.nhs.uk, speak to their GP or pharmacist.”
The service explained that it would be asking some patients to make their own way to accident and emergency when it is safe to do so.
