Sick Brits told not to call 999 to ask where their ambulance is amid crisis | The Sun

SICK Brits have been told not to call 999 back to ask where their ambulance is — despite long waits as services crack under pressure.

Bosses warn the phone lines are chock-a-block.

They urged people to only use 999 in a true emergency — and to only call again if the patient is getting worse.

Ministers will hold crisis talks with crews across the country this week as medics battle the heatwave and Covid surge.

Martin Flaherty, manager at the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said: “We are urging people not to call 999 back to ask about an estimated arrival time unless the patient’s condition has changed.

“This keeps the line free for someone who may need urgent assistance.”

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All ambulance services in England are now on their highest alert level, known as REAP 4, because of “extreme pressure” during the crisis.

Health minister Maria Caulfield told MPs the NHS faces “pressures we would normally expect to see in winter” and is handling record numbers of 999 calls at present.

Ms Caulfield said the meetings with the 11 ambulance trusts were “not just to deal with the pressures now but to prepare for the winter”.

COVID deaths in the UK have passed a total of 200,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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