THE NORTH'S ambulance service is "close to broken" at what is expected to one of the busiest periods of the year for emergency call-outs.
A perfect storm caused by combination of coronavirus, staff shortages and a spike in 999 calls is placing the service under increased pressure over Halloween.
A member of Stormont's health committee last night told The Irish News he was "genuinely frightened" by the implications of the latest crisis.
Colin McGrath said the public "will undoubtedly suffer" due to a situation that one senior member of the regional ambulance service described as "the worst I have known".
It comes as Finance Minister Conor Murphy announced £200 million for the Department of Health from the October monitoring round.
The allocation is to help the health service meet Covid pressures on hospitals, tackle waiting lists, and fund a pay award for health workers.
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) assistant director Brian Snoddy, who has worked in the health sector for 40 years, said emergency provision fell "far short" of what could be expected in "normal circumstances".
He warned that response times could be delayed "by hours".
"Delays and pressures throughout the system have that knock-on affect to our response time," he told Radio Foyle.
"These have been pressures from July last year and have been building throughout the Covid period."
He said paramedics were screening calls and asking people whose condition deteriorated to call back.
He urged those not requiring urgent attention to "seek medical treatment elsewhere".
"When you get all of those pressures on top of Covid pressures, winter pressures, seasonal illness and increased social activity coupled with a shortage of staff throughout the service that all adds up," he said.
"It's the amalgamation of all of those issues, it's hard to pick out just one, but Covid has been a big game-changer here."
Mr McGrath said it was clear that the health service was "in crisis in some places and just plain broke in others".
"The ambulance service is one that is close to broken," the SDLP MLA said.
"People, especially in rural areas, are simply waiting too long for ambulances in their moment of need and the result is at times that people are dying. To hear of the continued pressures the service are facing actually makes me frightened as I know constituents such as mine will undoubtedly suffer."
He called on Health Minister Robin Swann to provide an "immediate boost to alleviate the problems the ambulance service faces today".
Meanwhile, ministers have said the public should expect to be asked for proof of their Covid-19 status.
First Minister Paul Givan and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill were speaking ahead of the latest relaxations to restrictions coming into force from noon tomorrow.
