With just over two weeks to go until Christmas, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is urging people across Hampshire to make the right call when it comes to healthcare over the festive period.

Going into this winter, the NHS as a whole is the busiest it has ever been in terms of A&E attendances and emergency ambulance responses to patients. That’s why SCAS is asking for the public’s help to ensure that control room teams and ambulance crews are available for people who really need our help.

Tracy Redman, assistant director of operations for Hampshire at SCAS, said: “No one imagines being ill or injured over Christmas, but it’s important that you plan now and think about how you would cope if you or a family member were. Many NHS health services are still available over Christmas and New Year if you have an urgent, but not emergency problem.

“Urgent treatment centres and first aid units are open every day from early morning till late at night. There are out-of-hours GP services available and you can call NHS 111 any time of day or night, or go online at 111.nhs.uk, to get the help and advice you need – including a call back from a nurse, paramedic or GP if appropriate.

“With all these options available for urgent care, I would really encourage people to think now about what services they might need, and how to access them. This will help our teams help those people suffering life-threatening emergencies who really need us this Christmas when they call 999.”

SCAS is asking people to only call 999, or go to A&E, if they or someone they are with is suffering a life-threatening or serious emergency that needs immediate assessment and/or treatment. Such emergencies include, but are not limited to:

Over the peak two-week Christmas and New Year period last year, SCAS received just over 29,000 calls to its 999 service. That averages around 86 calls to 999 every hour, or more than one every minute for the entire festive period.