EMAS anticipates 'high demand' over New Year's Eve

The ambulance service said levels of emergency calls this month were up by more than 40%

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) said it was expecting a high demand for ambulance services on New Year's Eve.

It follows one of its busiest Christmas periods as crews dealt with a rise of 40% in emergency calls during December.

EMAS said extra resources would be deployed to cope with the expected high demand.

The public are also being advised to be responsible regarding 999 calls and make full use of their GPs and walk-in centres to help ease pressure.

James Gray, EMAS medical director said: "Whilst we don't want to dissuade anyone from calling 999, the public can really help us by only doing so in the case of a genuine emergency.

"Our priority is to help patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries as quickly as possible.

"We have increased our operational resources to help us cope with the predicted upsurge in demand and provide the best service possible to the public over the New Year period."