THE ambulance service is bracing itself for a busy New Year after a surge in calls over Christmas.

South Western Ambulance Service has put a restriction on holidays and has the maximum number of ambulances available on the roads to ensure it is ready for high levels of demand.

It comes after the service took 3,000 999 calls in just one day after Christmas – an increase of 20 per cent from last year.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service,said: “As anticipated the festive period so far has been busy with increased levels of demand when compared with the same four day period last year.

“The Trust meticulously plans for such eventualities and in support of this had more staff on duty, both on the road and in our control rooms.

“More than 3,000 calls are expected each day for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and the public are being reminded to ensure they have sufficient medication to last them through the bank holiday period, to drive safely and in accordance with weather conditions, and to only call 999 in an emergency situation. Patients with life threatening, time-critical emergencies such as those who aren’t breathing will be prioritised and on occasion this means others may need to wait longer for help.”

Meanwhile both Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital A&Es are experiencing higher demand over the bank holidays.

A spokesman for Poole Hospital said: “We regret that some patients may not have been seen as quickly as we would have liked due to this demand on our emergency services.

“While busy, we remain ready to receive patients with serious illnesses or life-threatening injuries and there has been no need to declare a major incident.

“As we approach the new year, and to support us to offer timely care to those in genuine need of our emergency services, we would encourage the public to ensure they use such services responsibly.”

Richard Renaut, Chief Operating Officer at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals, added: “We do expect to see increased admissions over the New Year’s weekend. We have planned as best we can for this, and will have many more doctors and other staff on duty.”

Health bosses are reminding the public of alternative services such as pharmacies, minor injury units, walk-in centres and NHS 111.