'Party responsibly' plea from ambulance service

The service says excessive drinking could pile the pressure on ambulance crews over the Christmas period

An ambulance service has urged people to party responsibly to avoid adding extra pressure on crews over the Christmas and New Year period.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) warned it was facing "significant pressure" and was issuing the plea to enable it to focus on emergency patients.

It highlighted excessive drinking leading to "entirely avoidable" ambulance calls.

"Anything members of the public can do to help prevent avoidable emergencies will make a real difference to demand on the 999 service," it added.

Mark Ainsworth said SCAS was already busy heading into the holiday period

Mark Ainsworth, director of operations at SCAS, said: "The last few weeks have been extremely busy for our staff and we really need the public's help."

"If you drink yourself into unconsciousness this can lead to an entirely avoidable emergency ambulance call-out.

"Every ambulance sent to someone who has drunk too much and needs medical assistance means we might not have a crew immediately available for someone who is critically ill or injured."

In October the service warned of longer waiting times happening earlier in the year than usual.

SCAS declared a critical incident in January when 70% of 999 callers were assessed as having serious conditions, causing delays and putting the service under severe pressure.

The service covers emergencies in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.