All ambulance services on black alert amid record Covid cases and heatwave
Abigail Rogers
Updated on March 22, 2026
ALL ambulance services are on the highest black alert — amid record Covid cases and temperatures.
The ten trusts in England have moved to the emergency crisis level, meaning long delays to 999 responses.
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Waits of up to 18 hours are reported as crews back up outside overloaded A&E departments.
Covid cases have hit an estimated 351,000 a day while an extreme heat warning has been extended.
All regional NHS ambulance trusts have now upgraded to REAP 4 alert, for the first time since January.
It means they are under extreme pressure and is on a par with a black alert in hospitals.
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Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned: “Patients with less serious illnesses will face longer waits as the most sick patients are prioritised.”
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting added: “Patients are left for far longer than is safe and lives are being lost.”
The NHS said: “Near-record levels of 999 calls, challenges discharging patients to social care, increasing Covid cases leading to more than 20,000 staff absences and the heatwave are having an impact.”
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