South Central Ambulance Service service declares critical incident

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) said it was experiencing "extreme pressure" across its services

An ambulance service, which serves people across four counties, has declared a "critical incident" because of "extreme pressure" on its services.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) asked people to make their own way to hospital except in life-threatening or serious emergencies.

High numbers of call-outs, Covid patients and sickness among staff have been blamed for the situation.

SCAS said staff were working to manage the issues.

In a statement on social media, SCAS said: "Declaring a critical incident means we are able to focus our resources on those patients most in need and communicates the pressures we are under to our patients and health system partners."

It added: "If your situation is not a life-threatening or serious emergency then we will discuss your needs and provide advice.

"If your call does not require an emergency ambulance response then you could be asked to make your own way to hospital."

An NHS spokesperson said: "NHS staff remain under significant pressure on many fronts as they deal with high numbers of ambulance call-outs, increasing numbers of people in hospital with Covid-19, while the latest weekly figures also show a spike in the number of staff off sick due to the virus."

But they said NHS teams across the country were "working hard to deliver as much routine care as possible as well as rolling out the spring booster programme".

SCAS is responsible for covering Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

The last time the service declared a critical incident was during February's storms.