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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jonathan Coles

Waiting times on some 999 calls 'rise to 10 minutes' during pingdemic nightmare

Some people are reportedly waiting up to 10 minutes for their 999 call to be answered amid the 'pingdemic'.

It is feared that Britain is grinding to a halt as hundreds of thousands of alerts continue to be sent out by the NHS app.

Data released on Thursday showed that more than 600,000 people had been told to isolate after being 'pinged' in the seven days to July 14 - a record high.

And a further 450,000 were contacted by Test and Trace - leaving the nation in disarray.

People have started panic-buying in shops again amid warnings from police chiefs that forces cannot cope with staff shortages.

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More than 600,000 'pings' were sent out in the week up to July 14 (AFP via Getty Images)

And it has now been reported that the 'pingdemic' problem has spread to 999 call centres.

Emergency calls made in the West Midlands area during the early hours of Sunday were taking an average of four minutes to be answered, reports the Independent.

But some call waiting times stretched to nine minutes and 43 seconds - or even longer.

One call handler told the publication: "It doesn’t bear thinking about what could be on the other [end] of those phones trying to get through."

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was "incredibly busy" and staff were "working hard to prioritise" sick and severely injured patients.

A spokesperson said: "We continue to see high levels of demand for our service and our staff are working hard to prioritise our sickest and most severely injured patients.

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"Everyone who needs an ambulance will get one, but we are incredibly busy so if you need urgent medical advice – but it's not an emergency – go to NHS111 online or call 111 for advice and support."

The news comes after Government announced that some critical workers in England won't have to self-isolate if they are contacted by Test and Trace.

Employers providing critical services can now request an exemption for named employees who are fully vaccinated.

But the Government says it is "not a blanket exemption for all workers in a sector" and daily testing must be carried out instead.

The chief constable of West Midlands Police had previously called for ministers to "explore all opportunities" to set up a test and release scheme allowing isolating police officers to return to duty.

Sir David Thompson said the "critical" move was needed swiftly - with any exemptions to the tracing system granted applied in a responsible way "so as not to compromise the safety of colleagues or the public".

He said: "Since the start of the pandemic, policing has been at the forefront of the response to managing the virus and is acutely aware of the risks and issues related to it.

"However, as infection rates remain high it is becoming increasingly challenging within West Midlands Police, like many other forces, to ensure that resilience is not compromised with high self-isolation through track and trace or other notifications.

"Against this backdrop, it is critical that we explore all opportunities with Government to introduce a test and release scheme swiftly for policing which makes it easier for us to free up resources and meet demand at what is already an exceptionally busy time of the year with very high volumes of calls.

"Any exemptions granted would be applied carefully in a responsible way so as not to compromise the safety of colleagues or the public."

The senior officer added: "I understand how challenging this is, but we need to do everything we can to ensure we can deliver sustainable policing services and keep the public safe."

It is feared that the 'pingdemic' is causing Britain to buckle (Getty Images)

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has suggested that, in some forces, functions such as control room operations are seeing higher staff absences than the national police absence rate.

The NPCC comments came after the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, Steve Turner, warned that call response times will rise due to the 'pingdemic'.

Mr Turner said the Cleveland force has had to cancel rest days and annual leave for some officers, as well as bringing in others from different shifts, to fill gaps caused by staff having to self-isolate following close contact with someone with Covid-19.

Mr Turner, who also called on the Government to review the rules for emergency workers who are pinged by the NHS Covid app, told the BBC: "We have got to provide a service.

"We suddenly find ourselves cancelling rest days and cancelling leave and bringing officers in from other shifts to cover where we have got the gaps."

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