999 crews attending

Life or death calls only

K bosses declared the snow a major incident and turned out only to life-threatening cases.

Yesterday’s treacherous blizzards meant ambulances answered 999 calls only —and those were prioritised for the most urgent cases where lives were at risk.

North West Ambulance Service’s deputy chief executive, Bob Williams said: “Due to the severe weather conditions we are unlikely to be able to reach patients with minor injuries or symptoms.

“We are having to stringently prioritise all of our 999 calls and despatch our resources to life-threatening cases only.

“We would like to stress the urgency for people to stay indoors unless it is absolutely necessary.

“The driving conditions are extremely hazardous and we would like to ensure that the risk of injury on the roads is reduced as much as possible.”

For medical advice, he said people should contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

And the Trust which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital advised outpatients and people due for elective surgery not to risk travelling unless in an emergency.

The Trust said it will contact patients to rearrange their appointments.

Visitors of people in hospital were also advised not to travel as staff focused on providing emergency services.

Patients who need to speak to the Trust about their appointment can call the Contact Centre on 0161 778 2233 (and use the call-back facility if busy) or email booking@pat.nhs.uk .