South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) has continued to manage and plan for the impact of further industrial action over recent weeks. This includes the junior doctor strike which is set to take place over four days from tomorrow (Tuesday, 11 April).
On the days of this planned industrial action, the Trust will set up a virtual command cell to monitor the situation and will move to a physical location if necessary. This is designed to help support hospital colleagues, ambulance crews and patients to ensure those who require urgent and emergency hospital care will continue to get responsive and high-quality care.
The NHS as a whole remains under significant pressure and we continue to urge people to only call 999 in a life-threatening or serious emergency.
Patients who may require an ambulance response where it is not time-critical or serious may, at times, face a longer wait for a response than the national target times of two or three hours. We would ask for your patience if this happens and only call us back if the patient’s condition worsens.
Pharmacists, GPs, urgent treatment centres, 111 online and the NHS App are all available and can advise on a range of minor illnesses and injuries, including advice on managing symptoms and repeat prescriptions.
Find out more about alternatives to 999 and 111 online.