AN AMBULANCE service announced it has moved to 'business continuity' status after declaring a 'critical incident' earlier this week.

South Central Ambulance Service said yesterday afternoon (July 14) the pressure it was facing has now eased but 'not gone away'.

It explained the coming days will remain challenging for staff as the weather is set to rise from Sunday.

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South Central Ambulance Service stated yesterday (July 14): "Earlier this morning we moved from our ‘critical incident’ status to an internal ‘business continuity’ status.

"The pressure we have been facing has eased but not gone away and we are expecting the next few days to remain very challenging due to high levels of demand the very high temperatures expected in our region from Sunday to Tuesday and the impact of continuing challenges facing other parts of our local NHS and social care services.

"We would like to pay tribute to our staff, volunteers and partners who have worked with great professionalism, dedication and care over a challenging few days and we ask for the public’s help by appropriately using our 999 service for life-threatening or serious emergencies only and to contact NHS 111 online or by phone for urgent medical problems, or utilise local urgent treatment centres, GPs and pharmacies."

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Earlier this morning we moved from our ‘critical incident’ status to an internal ‘business continuity’ status. The pressure we have been facing has eased but not gone away and we are expecting the next few days to remain very challenging due to high levels of demand... pic.twitter.com/ALQ7p6cRf8