Sussex Ambulance Teams Thanked After Handling More Than 3,000 Calls A Day In December

South East Coast Ambulance Service has thanked its staff and volunteers after experiencing extremely high demand over the festive period, with more than 3,000 calls made on its busiest days in December.

Ahead of Christmas and New Year, the service encouraged people to use alternative NHS services where appropriate, such as NHS 111, pharmacies and urgent treatment centres, to help keep ambulances free for life-threatening emergencies.

The trust said demand remained exceptionally high throughout the month and is expected to continue into January and across the winter period.

Chief executive Simon Weldon praised crews, control room teams, volunteers and support staff who worked long and challenging shifts, often spending Christmas away from loved ones.

He said winter would “continue to bring challenges”, but reassured the public that teams would keep working hard to respond to patients across Sussex and the wider South East.

Hospitals across the region have also reported a busy winter so far, including rising cases of flu and ongoing pressures on services.