Patients have reportedly been forced to wait up to five hours in the back of ambulances at a hospital after a huge surge in 999 calls.
Up to 20 ambulances were reportedly queuing up outside Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday night after a spike in emergency call outs.
The added pressure of coronavirus patients, mixed with the usual winter surge in admissions, is said to be to blame.
The area’s ambulance service has now reportedly put an emergency divert in place to send patients to other hospitals in a bid to prevent another build-up.
Hospital staff have also reportedly pleaded with residents in the area not to call for an ambulance unless absolutely necessary.
According to Leicestershire Live, one under-pressure paramedic took to social media to issue a plea.
The paramedic said: ‘It soon became a 5-hour wait on the back of ambulances. Imagine your loved one sat on the back of an ambulance for that long.
Up to 20 ambulances were reportedly stuck outside Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday night after a spike in emergency call outs
‘Next time you ring 999, think, do you REALLY need an ambulance?’
Another unnamed medic told the website: ‘I can’t remember it ever being that busy before.
‘Ambulances were diverted. I can’t think of a time we’ve ever had to turn patients away.’
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) says it was experiencing a ‘high volume of calls’ recently, with sources telling Leicestershire Live that patients struggling to get GP appointments were instead calling 999.
The service said it was urging people to call 111 – the NHS’ non-emergency helpline – to get advice before calling 999 if necessary.
EMAS says it has a divert in place to send patients to other hospitals where possible.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Leicester’s Hospitals – the trust which operates Leicester Royal Infirmary and other hospitals in the area – told Leicestershire Live that the ‘end of last week was particularly busy’.
The spokesperson also said the trust was ‘sorry to anyone affected’.
MailOnline has contacted Leicester’s Hospitals and EMAS for a comment.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Leicester’s Hospitals – the trust which operates Leicester Royal Infirmary and other hospitals in the area – told Leicestershire Live that the ‘end of last week was particularly busy’
It comes as today it was reported that Britain’s coronavirus growth rate is ‘slowing’ according to the head of the Office for National Statistics, as the country records a further 168 Covid deaths and 24,962 new cases.
Today’s death toll is a rise of just 7.7 per cent on the 156 deaths reported last Sunday in a hopeful sign that fatalities may be flattening out.
The total number of cases reported today is 21 per cent higher than the figure recorded last Sunday.
However, today’s case load is one of the lower numbers seen this week after the Government recorded 26,860 positive tests yesterday, 27,301 on Friday and a massive 33,470 on Thursday.
Furthermore, ONS figures released this week showed that while daily case totals have been increasing recently, they are doing so at a slower rate than previous weeks.
Figures are usually lower on Sunday and Monday due to reporting delays over the weekend.
Earlier today, the head of the ONS said that growth in infections is ‘slowing’ too.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond says that while there remains an increase in the number of Covid cases, the data shows a ‘slowdown in the rate of growth’, providing a small ray of hope for an end to harsh countrywide restrictions.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that Britain is in the grip of a second wave spurred on by teenagers and young adults – who are also starting to see a drop in the rate of infections.
Sir Ian said: ‘The good news is – yes – we are seeing a slow down in the rate of growth.
‘That means we’re still increasing and we are now in England at 1.25 per 1,000. That means that one in 85 people in England, we believe, have the virus.
‘In Wales, a little less at one in 100, in Scotland one in 135 and Northern Ireland one in 105. So yes we are continuing to increase the numbers, but the rate of growth is slowing.’
England recorded 21,998 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, while Wales reported 1,333. Scotland recorded 1,159 and Northern Ireland reported 472 new cases.
It comes as a weekly report from the Office for National Statistics found that England’s outbreak had stayed relatively flat in the first week of November, with only a four per cent rise in daily infections, indicating a potential slow down in the virus’ spread.
Meanwhile, it was revealed this week that fewer than 30 people are currently being treated in Nightingale hospitals, despite the recent rise in Covid-19 hospital admissions.
Only one of the seven facilities across the country is open, with two more ‘ready to take patients’ if needed.
The 750-bed Nightingale in Manchester is caring for a few dozen patients who have now tested negative for the coronavirus but are in need of step-down care after a stay in hospital.
The Nightingale hospitals in Sunderland and Harrogate have been asked to be ready for patients.
On Friday, there were 13,328 people in hospital with Covid, including 1,158 on ventilators.
The NHS was, however, largely able to cope so only two were used, with around 200 people treated.
There has been speculation that the Nightingales could be used as centres to provide vaccinations.