South Central Ambulance Services (SCAS), have released the following statement due to increased pressure on the operational services SCAS announces move to REAP 4 in light of increasing pressure Following a review of our current response times to patients and our staffing levels across the core Operational services, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) has moved from Resource Escalation Action Plan (REAP) Level 3 (Major Pressure) to Level 4 (Extreme Pressure). We have made this decision in light of increasing response times to some of our patients, as well as the ongoing challenges across the NHS currently, which has been having an impact on our ability to answer 999 calls and reach our most life-threatening patients as quickly as we need and would like to. At this time of the year, we would expect some challenges in handing our patients into the care of the hospitals, however with a number of Trusts declaring critical incidents this is having a further impact on our ability to deliver the right care, first time, every time. We are doing everything we can to communicate these pressures and in addition ensure that we can make sure the right resource is available in the right places for the benefit of our patients and our staff. Mark Ainsworth Director of Operations