East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has formally stood down its first ever critical incident, which was announced partly due to widespread flooding. The organisation declared the incident on Monday evening as severe flooding hit the region.

Multiple hospitals across the country have declared critical incidents after emergency departments were swamped by a surge in winter flu cases. As of Tuesday evening, NHS England confirmed at least a dozen hospitals had declared the health system’s highest alert level as the rise in respiratory cases led to “exceptionally high demands”.

Two Somerset hospitals have declared critical incidents due to sharp rises in patients presenting with flu and other respiratory illnesses.