East Midlands Ambulance Service is under "extreme pressure" and is currently on the highest level of alert. This is due to a combination of Covid absences among staff, difficulty caused by the hot weather and ongoing delays in handing over patients to A&E.
A spokesperson for the East Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed to Leicestershire Live it stands at REAP 4 (Resource Escalation Plan - colloquially known as "black alert" - and has done so since March 24. Several ambulance services confirmed to the PA news agency they were on the highest level of alert after the Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported this was the case for all 10 in England.
Across Nottinghamshire, hospitals are also currently "very busy" with a wave of patient who need specialist trauma care, it has been revealed. A plan has been outlined by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust to tackle the increasing demand across the county.
