The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is urgently appealing to the public to think carefully before dialling 999 due to the extreme demand it is currently facing following the four-day Christmas break.

At 11:30am on Wednesday, December 28, there were 482 patients waiting for ambulances across the South West, with 106 patients awaiting handover at hospitals across the South West.

And SWASFT has declared a critical incident because the extreme pressures it is experiencing are affecting its ability to respond to patients.

SWASFT’s deputy director of operations Wayne Darch said: “Please help us to help the patients who need us most by only calling 999 if a patient has a life-threatening condition or illness.

"If the condition of a patient is not life-threatening we may direct them to an alternative service. So please help us by accessing the right service for the care you need.

“We are doing all we can to manage these winter pressures and we are sorry that we are unable to respond to some patients as quickly as we would like. We will get to you as soon as we can.

“Please do not call back simply to ask for an estimated time of arrival of an ambulance. We cannot provide one, and it blocks our lines for other callers.

“I’d like to reiterate SWASFT’s thanks to our people and all our NHS partners working to deliver the best possible care they can for patients over the festive period.”