Coronavirus: Ambulance worker voice message is 'not correct'

News imageSECAMB South East Coast AmbulanceSECAMB

An ambulance service has denounced a voice message which contains "alarmist" false details about its response to coronavirus.

The message, shared on WhatsApp, claims ambulances will not be sent to people struggling to breathe and Covid-19 patients will be "dying at home".

It was recorded by a woman who says she works for South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) NHS Trust.

The trust said the contents of the message were "not correct".

It urged people to "disregard the message and not share it further".

Emma-Louise James, who was one of those to receive the message, thanked the trust for "addressing" it, adding: "It's making people's anxiety levels go through the roof."

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Healthwatch England has also warned the public to ignore the message, which claims bodies are being sent to "every ice-skating rink there is in the UK" because mortuaries are full.

The BBC understands an investigation has been launched to determine whether the woman was a genuine ambulance worker.

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