Ambulance alert after increased demand stood down

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has stood down a business continuity incident declared earlier this week due to increasing demand for emergency care.

The incident was declared at 19:15 BST on Tuesday following "sustained pressure" on EMAS services across the region, and meant services could be disrupted below expected levels.

Declaring a business continuity incident allows EMAS to take additional steps to ensure ambulance crews are available to respond to patients where life is at risk.

On Thursday, the service said it had stood down the business continuity incident, but added the pressures experiences over the past week remained.

EMAS said on Tuesday it handled more than 4,500 emergency calls – which it stated was one of the busiest days experienced outside of winter.

A spokesperson for the service added: "Our focus now is on recovery – improving response times and reducing the waits patients have experienced across our communities, while continuing to prioritise the most life-threatening and serious incidents.

"This will be supported by continued senior oversight and coordination over the coming weeks.

"We would like to thank our staff and volunteers, who have worked tirelessly during this period to continue supporting patients across the region, and our NHS partners for their continued support despite the significant pressures they are also facing."

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