23 January 2024 , 12:11
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A critical incident has been declared at Leicester Hospitals as “hundreds of people” have been left waiting for “hours” to be seen.
The University of Leicester NHS Trust Is asking people not attend A&E but to call 111 first. The trust posted on social media that it was currently experiencing a very high demand for services across its hospitals. By calling 111, people will be “directed more quickly and easily” to a “better place” for their needs, the trust said.
One local resident, speaking to the Leicester Mercury, claimed a nurse working at the LRI had informed them there were 200 people waiting in A&E at 10.30am this morning. The claims have not been verified by the trust.
NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board has just tweeted for people to only call 999 for "life-threatening emergencies". It said: "Your local NHS is under pressure. If it’s urgent, visit http://111.nhs.uk or call NHS 111. For urgent mental health problems call 0808 800 3302 or visit a Neighbourhood Mental Health Café. For life-threatening emergencies only, call 999."
Dr Nil Sanganee, Chief Medical Officer at the NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said in addition to hospitals currently seeing a high number of patients seeking care, there are also challenges with ambulance handovers and hospitals are struggling to discharge many patients either home or into other care settings.
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However, the critical incident is not isolated to the hospitals alone - pressures are being experienced across the local health care network. Mr Sanganee apologised for the "longer than usual" waits for care people are currently experiencing.
He said: “This morning (Tuesday, January 23), the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board declared a critical incident to help protect patient safety due to significant pressures on local services. There is currently significant demand for all services with hospitals seeing a high number of patients needing care, a challenging ambulance handover situation and limited ability to discharge patients to onward care or home.
“This means all local NHS services and particularly the Emergency Department at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and Clinical Decisions Unit at Glenfield Hospital are incredibly busy and people may have longer than usual waits for their care. We apologise to anyone affected by this.
“The safety of patients and the wellbeing of our colleagues remain our top priorities as we work together to care for the people who need us."
He added: “We urge people to only attend the Emergency Department if they have a life-threatening injury or illness. If your condition is urgent but not life-threatening, please call 111 or use the NHS 111 online service to get advice and care in the best place for your needs.
“People can also help us is by supporting our NHS teams to get relatives home from hospital if they are medically fit to leave.”
University of Leicester NHS Trust hospitals:
- Glenfield Hospital
- Leicester General Hospital
- Leicester Royal Infirmary
Just last week the Mirror reported two hospitals declared critical incidents due to a "major IT failure" with two others also experiencing widespread technical issues. The Royal Sussex and Princess Royal Hospitals were hit last Sunday, with St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester and Worthing Hospital reporting similar difficulties.
And on Tuesday, January 9 hospitals in Nottinghamshire declared a critical incident for the second week in a row after a sudden rise in Covid and flu patients. Dr Dave Briggs, the medical director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire said at the time: "Our acute hospitals remain under extreme pressure, so the critical incident status covering the whole Nottingham and Nottinghamshire NHS system remains in place. Although staffing levels have recovered, the increase in demand, particularly for patients presenting with seasonal and respiratory illnesses such as flu and Covid remains high.