As pressures continue to mount on the region's NHS, emergency services are still here for those who need them most. That's the message in a joint open letter from East of England Ambulance Service chief executive Tom Abell and Norfolk chief nurse Cath Byford.
Across the NHS in recent weeks we’ve seen a significant increase in demand at both A&E departments and through 999 calls.
Despite the phenomenal efforts of our people working within the NHS, this demand, alongside more of our people being off work due to COVID and the reduced ability for patients to go home, has meant that some waiting times in our A&E departments and ambulance responses have been longer than any of us would like.
Every single 999 call for ambulance services across the East of England comes through to our three operations centres.
When you call 999, our team follow a national protocol to make challenging decisions about who to help and where to go first. We prioritise calls so that those with the most urgent need get the help they need quickest.
Similarly, when you go to A&E you’ll be initially assessed to understand how urgent your need is so your care can be prioritised effectively and those with the most urgent cases are treated fastest.
Exceptionally busy A&E departments can also result in ambulances taking longer to transfer patients from the ambulance into hospital, something that we have seen in the news across England over recent months.
We understand the anxiety that can be caused by delays and waits for care. There is nothing more worrying when you or a loved one are sick, and we are very sorry for the distress this has caused.
We are working together to rise to this challenge through the following ways:
- Prioritising those who are in most need first, which we will always do.
- Supporting patients to use alternative points of contact to 999 and A&E where there is another service that meets personal need, such as using 111 or other services available in the community.
- Piloting new ways of working – for instance, we are piloting new ways of working between the Ambulance Service and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital to speed up the handover of patients so we can release more ambulances to respond to patients in the community.
- Making sure we have good communications at all times across all parts of the NHS, this helps tackle handover and discharge delays.
Within the NHS we have fantastic, committed people who want to care for patients in all circumstances.
Throughout the winter they have worked tirelessly for their communities.
With your help we can support them and those in our community who are in most need by making the right choices about how we use NHS services, so please only call 999 or attend A&E if it really is an emergency.
If you need advice or are not sure what service you need you can always call NHS 111 which is available 24/7.
But rest assured, in an emergency the NHS is here to care for you, your family and your loved ones.
Thank you for your continued help and support.
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