New figures suggest people in Cornwall heeded 999 teams’ pleas to help the emergency services amid mounting pressure over the New Year period.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals was one of the few trusts in England to avoid a New Year’s Day increase in ambulance arrivals this year, with figures showing other trusts faced a significant rise in traffic on the first day of 2022.

As ambulance delays and waiting lists have hit record levels in recent weeks, the NHS pleaded that demand for care meant the public should “use emergency services wisely” over the new year period.

Data from NHS England shows that January 1 was quieter for ambulance arrivals at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust this year – 80 patients arrived via ambulance, 5.6 per cent fewer than the average for the prior fortnight.

But before the pandemic – on January 1 2020, just before coronavirus struck the UK – there was an increase, with 8.4 per cent more ambulances arriving than the average for the two weeks before.

Across England, 12,500 people arrived at hospitals in ambulances this January 1.

But pressure on the NHS continues to be severe.

At Royal Cornwall Hospitals, 53 per cent of arrivals faced an hour’s delay this year, up from 24 per cent on the same dates a year ago.

A further 19 per cent faced a wait of half an hour or longer this year – last year, 11 per cent did on those dates.

And Cornwall GP surgeries have been struggling to cope over the festive period due to the crisis in the NHS and “unprecedented demand.”

Cornwall NHS said the health and care system remains under pressure and ahead of New Year’s Eve went to the unprecedented step of asking visitors to the county to bring pain relief, cold and flu medication with them.

They said GP surgeries and NHS 111 were seeing a surge in calls. Some of these are about coughs, colds and bugs which can be treated at home with a well-stocked medicine cabinet or by getting help from pharmacies.

Newquay Health Centre in Thomas Road and Narrowcliff Surgery at Narrowcliff both said they were finding it difficult to cope with the amount of GP appointments that were being requested.

Newquay Health Centre had to resort to disabling the online contact form at times one day in December so the surgery could safely manage the incoming workload.

Narrowcliff Surgery stated the waiting times for nursing appointments, compared to many other practices is relatively short but added this level of service is no longer guaranteed.

Staff have been “feeling the strain” and extra administration staff are being recruited.

The surgery said staff are doing the best they can and urged people to be patient, polite and remember that the delays are not their fault as it was due to years of “chronic underfunding” of the NHS.

Prior to Christmas, it was announced that Cornwall’s hospitals and health care system was operating at a critical incident level due to current operational pressures.

A high number of ambulances have had to wait outside the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and there had been a “surge” demand on the emergency department and Cornwall’s minor injury units. Industrial action has also had an impact.

Narrowcliff Surgery, in a letter to patients, said: “We are seeing unprecedented demand for our services with significantly more telephone calls compared with last year. Our staff are feeling the strain and although we are actively recruiting for more administrative staff it takes time and effort to do so and also train them in the required roles. 

“Since the pandemic we know that people are struggling with physical and mental health problems and many of these are more complex and require greater number of appointments. In addition, the amount of “unseen” work has increased and the team are spending many hours a day dealing with prescription requests, test results, letters and insurance forms etc. 

“Here at Narrowcliff we have always prided ourselves on the service we provide to you which until recently has meant that the majority of patients have a callback within a few hours of contacting the surgery and are seen the same day. 

“The waiting times for nursing appointments, compared to many other practices are relatively short. Unfortunately, this level of service is no longer guaranteed. We are looking at various methods to allow us to continue with the standard that we want to provide so you might notice a few changes in the coming weeks. 

“It’s really important that you see the right person to deal with your problem. This is not always a GP. We have a fantastic team of specialists who may well be better suited to help you. These include diabetic nurses, social prescribers, health coaches, a pharmacist and a psychiatric nurse. You can also access help from your local pharmacist. Support from the voluntary sector is available seven days a week on 01872 266383.”

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) also appealed to the public to think carefully before dialling 999 due to the extreme demand it was facing following the festive break.

They also declared a critical incident over the holiday period.

SWASFT’s deputy director of operations Wayne Darch said: “Please help us to help the patients who need us most by only calling 999 if a patient has a life-threatening condition or illness.

“If the condition of a patient is not life-threatening we may direct them to an alternative service. So please help us by accessing the right service for the care you need.

“We are doing all we can to manage these winter pressures and we are sorry that we are unable to respond to some patients as quickly as we would like. We will get to you as soon as we can.

“Please do not call back simply to ask for an estimated time of arrival of an ambulance.”