THE Welsh Ambulance Service has reminded the public to only use the 999 service for genuine emergencies after being inundated with low priority calls this weekend.
After another extremely busy Saturday and Sunday, they say people have been calling emergency services for problems such as back pain from gardening, and sunburn. Another caller had complained of being unable to go to the toilet.
Staff at the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust say the service remains "very busy" following the declaration last week of a Business Continuity Incident whereby demand outstripped capacity to respond.
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This weekend alone the Trust received over 4,400 calls, many of which (22 per cent) fell into the lowest priority ‘Green’ calls category.
Lee Brooks, director of operations for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "We are asking people to consider the alternatives to calling 999 if their situation is not a life threatening emergency – this will help us in assisting those most in need of our emergency ambulances.
"For non-urgent conditions it is vital people begin to use one of the many alternatives to 999, starting with the symptom checkers on our NHS 111 Wales website as well as their GP, pharmacist and Minor Injuries Unit.
"If your call is not for a life-threatening emergency but you feel you require hospital treatment then you may be asked to consider an alternative method of transportation such as any family, friends or neighbours who can drive you."
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With one in five people in Wales being affected by a lung condition, calling 999 for a breathing related problem accounted for 11.6 per cent of the service's call demand.
Many breathing conditions can be aggravated by a change in weather, including extreme heat as we have been experiencing and Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma UK & British Lung Foundation Wales, said: "Some people find that hot summer weather causes a flare up of their lung condition symptoms.
"This is why it’s so important to understand your personal weather triggers and plan ahead.
"We have 314,000 people with asthma and 76,000 with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Wales so it is important to look after each other as well as ourselves," he added.
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