Two hospitals declare 'critical incident' after being overwhelmed with patients

31 October 2023 , 20:31

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Nottingham City Hospital (Image: PA)

Critical incidents have been declared at two major hospitals at which NHS care is unsafe.

Nottingham University Hospitals confirmed the incident as its hospitals in the city, including Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC), were overwhelmed with patients. A critical incident was also declared on Monday night at the James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

This happens when hospitals are under such pressure that they are routinely missing targets and that patient care and safety is compromised. A memo to staff at Nottingham University Hospitals, leaked to the Sunday Times, said: “There are more than 220 people in ED [emergency department] at QMC with more than 122 patients waiting to be admitted to a ward.

“There are a number of patients waiting in ambulances who we cannot safely offload. The number of patients who we are supporting to be discharged is well below our average.” It added: “The impact of this is that we have more people in our emergency department waiting to be admitted than we have available beds. This is contributing to the very long waits we are seeing in ED.”

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Critical incidents are being reported at hospitals earlier on each year in winter, which is the traditional time hospitals come under more pressure. It comes amid a record 7.7 million NHS waiting list in England, which is growing by 100,000 appointments every month. A leaked memo to staff at James Paget University Hospital said: “We are facing high demand in our emergency department, with long delays in patient handovers from our ambulance colleagues.

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“At the same time our bed capacity is under intense pressure and we are using our escalation areas. As such it is essential that our current focus is on alleviating our current operational situation both tonight and tomorrow - so please cancel all non-essential meetings.” It comes as the UK Health Security Agency today(WED) launches a drive for eligible patients to “get winter strong” by having flu and Covid-19 vaccinations.

Health bosses are worried about a “twindemic” putting the health service under huge pressure in the coming months. Dr Mary Ramsay, immunisation director at the UKHSA, said: “For those most vulnerable both flu and COVID-19 can cause severe illness, often hospitalisation.

“Nobody wants to miss out on the festive celebrations with their friends and family this winter and the vaccines provide the best possible protection.” Both NHS trusts were yesterday calling on patients to contact NHS 111 if it is not an emergency and to speak to a GP or pharmacist in non-urgent cases.

A spokesman for the James Paget University Hospital said: “The James Paget declared a critical incident at 5pm last night, due to an increased number of attendances at our Emergency Department and pressure on our bed capacity. We are currently experiencing high demand at our hospital and, as such, would remind people to only attend Accident and Emergency if it is a genuine emergency. Patients with appointments/procedures at the hospital should still attend as planned, unless they hear from us.”

A spokesperson for NUH stated: “The Trust has declared a critical incident in response to extreme pressures across our hospitals, including our emergency department. Our teams are working hard to maintain safe services for patients in our hospitals and to improve flow across our sites. We apologise to anyone experiencing delays in their care, and we will continue to prioritise patients with the highest level of need.”

Martin Bagot