With uplifting rainbow posters displayed in windows, donations of essential supplies (such as chocolate and biscuits!) and countless messages of thanks and appreciation, North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has been inundated with support from the public as staff continue to work extremely hard during these unprecedented times.

With a rise of 999 and 111 calls, the trust has plans in place to ensure the service can still respond to emergencies and provide healthcare advice as needed.

This includes utilising staff from other areas of the organisation and recruiting additional staff to work in our emergency operations centres and 111 contact centres.

Deputy director of operations, Steve Hynes said: “NWAS is prepared and rehearsed for dealing with issues such as this and we are following national and internal guidance on how we respond to patients who may have Covid-19.

“Being as busy as we are, this does mean that people with a non-life threatening need will have to wait longer for an ambulance than usual and so we urge the public to continue to support us by only calling 999 for life threatening emergencies and to use 111 Online for other conditions.

“We thank the public for all their support and urge everyone to continue to help us to help you by following the government’s advice and staying at home unless it’s essential.”