Coronavirus: What does major incident declared in Sussex mean?

As a result, there were fears that health services could be overwhelmed with hospitals having to support more and more patients.

But what does the major incident mean for the county?

1. When was it introduced?

The Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF), which coordinates and communicates between health, emergency services and local authorities, agreed to declare the incident from 2pm yesterday.

It is in response to the high and increasing rate of infection across Sussex due to the mutant strain

2. What is it?

A spokesman for the SRF explained that a major incident is "a recognition of national demand and puts all agencies in Sussex in the best possible position to come together to tackle the virus".

"It is a well-recognised and rehearsed escalation that can be expected at times of exceptional need – a major incident was also in place during the summer of 2020," he said.

The South East Coast Ambulance Service has been placed under strain

3. Why was it introduced?

Rupert Clubb from the SRF told BBC Radio Sussex: "We know that the next few weeks are going to be incredibly challenging for partners.

"That's the reason we declared a major incident."

Mr Clubb said that "this time of year is a busy time for the health system at the best of times" but the situation had been exacerbated by the spread of Covid-19.

A new, more transmissive strain of the virus is currently spreading rapidly in the South East of England.

• READ MORE: Major incident declared in Sussex

Mr Clubb said: "It's not just hospitals themselves (that will have an added strain upon them), this is across the entire healthcare system and it ranges from 999 calls, hospital admissions, discharge from hospitals, community services and provision in care homes.

"It's the impact across the whole system."

• READ MORE: Care home loses half of its residents in Covid outbreak over Christmas

An SRF spokesman added: "SRF partners are satisfied that they are currently managing the extra demands on the system but agree that they must now make plans for the likelihood that pressures will increase still further in coming weeks.

"There is a particular need to continue delivering the programme of vaccination to Sussex residents."

The Oxford vaccine

4. What impact will it have on the county?

Mr Clubb said: "In agreeing the decision it allows us to step up further and strengthen our response.

"So, for example, this might include making more use of our volunteer groups and preparing the details of that.

"And (working out) what is the extra capacity needed across this range of services.

• READ MORE: 13 pictures show Sussex town with highest coronavirus rate on second day of lockdown three

"It also enables us, if it's appropriate to do so, to request additional support from the government.

"...So it puts us on that footing that allows us to prepare, strengthen and support our public sector colleagues as we deal with what is going to be a really challenging few weeks."

A lateral flow Covid-19 test

5. Why has this been implemented in Sussex specifically?

The BBC reported yesterday that both Sussex and Surrey have "major incident" responses in place.

While Sussex representatives announced the county would be adopting this approach yesterday, the Surrey Resilience Forum said it had been using the system since last March.

Both areas are in parts of the South East of England where a new, more transmissible strain of Covid-19 was identified shortly before Christmas.

As a result, both counties were among the first to be placed under Tier 4 restrictions as the government sought to introduce tougher coronavirus restrictions to prevent the spread of the new variant.

However, case numbers in Sussex have continued to rise, with Crawley now having a weekly rate of 1,030.2 new cases per 100,000 population.

This is the 33rd highest rate of all 315 local authority areas in England.

• READ MORE: Brighton coronavirus rate soars as expert warns of more deaths

On New Year's Day, the South East Coast Ambulance Service (which covers Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and North East Hampshire) issued an open letter detailing the high demand its services were facing.

A spokesman said: "SECAmb continues to experience significant pressure and is working hard to reach everyone who needs help as quickly as possible.

"While call volume in the first few hours of 2021 was down on last year, over the course of 24 hours on New Year’s Eve, SECAmb answered more than 2,700 calls – an increase of more than 200 compared to the same period last year."