'Critical incidents' declared at hospital, ambulance trusts in UK

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Hospital and ambulance trusts across the UK have declared “critical incidents” due to mounting pressure on services, local media reported on Tuesday.

Ambulance services across the North East, South East and East of England, as well as trusts covering health services across the Nottinghamshire and the Portsmouth areas, declared “critical incidents.”

Meanwhile, London paramedics have also moved to a "business continuity incident," due to the mounting pressure on services, Sky News reported.

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) warned that its 999 and 111 services were "extremely busy" and called on people to only call 999 for emergency situations.

This came a time when thousands of nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland went on strike for the second time this week amid an ongoing pay dispute with the government.

Thousands of ambulance workers and other NHS staff will also walk out across England and Wales on Wednesday over the pay dispute.