It is hoped the “temporary measure” will help ensure the availability of emergency services for those who urgently need them.
“Significant strain on our emergency response system”
Chief Ambulance Officer Peter Gavey said: “We would like to inform the public that the Jersey Ambulance Service is currently experiencing a surge in call volumes.
“As a result, we kindly request that individuals refrain from calling the emergency number (999) unless they are facing a genuine emergency that requires immediate medical assistance.
“The increased call volume is placing a significant strain on our emergency response system, potentially leading to delays in attending to life-threatening situations.”
Ensuring resources are “fully dedicated to those in urgent need”
They continued: “By restricting non-emergency calls, we can ensure that our resources are fully dedicated to those in urgent need of medical attention.
“For non-urgent medical advice, contact your healthcare provider/GP surgery or pharmacist.
“Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.”
Previous bed-blocking spike
Last month, islanders were urged not to visit A&E unless they were “experiencing a genuine medical emergency” as the hospital dealt with another spike in bed blocking.
Following questions from Express, the Health Department confirmed that the reminder was a response to the hospital becoming very busy with higher than predicted emergency admissions.
Officials said that, as of yesterday, 44 patients were “delayed discharge” due to lack of capacity in the community.
Statistics from the end of July showed 28 people in the hospital were identified as ‘Delayed Transfers of Care’ (DToC), meaning that they had been assessed as no longer needing to be in hospital, but were unable to leave.
LISTEN…
Express recently spoke to the Health Department’s Interim Chief Officer, Chris Bown, on the challenges facing the service for an episode of the ‘Bailiwick Podcast‘.
You can listen below or on your favourite podcast player by searching ‘Bailiwick Podcasts’.
