NHS hospital declares critical incident over 'extremely high demand on services'

13 February 2024 , 12:37

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Royal Stoke Hospital has declared a critical incident (Image: BPM MEDIA)

A critical incident has been declared at two Staffordshire hospitals due to an "extremely high demand in services."

Royal Stoke Hospital and County Hospital have been confirmed to both be struggling with the demand. The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) said the sites have been under "severe and sustained pressure since the start of the year." According to the trust, the hospitals have endured "even greater demands" in the last 24 hours. By declaring a critical incident, it will allow the sites to take additional steps to maintain safety.

The trust said it was working with the NHS and local councils to look for further methods which can help free up bed space. The latest announcement comes after a similar incident was declared at both of the hospitals follow a surge in demand on January 31. Medical director Dr Matthew Lewis said the hospitals are going through an "extremely challenging period" and thanked members of the public for their "understanding and co-operation.”

He said: "We are currently experiencing extremely high demand for all our services. Both Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford have been under severe and sustained pressure since the start of the year, but we have seen even greater demands in the last 24 hours. This helps us to take additional measures to maintain safe services for our patients."

The trust is searching for other methods to help free up bed space at the hospitals (Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)

He added: Locally, we are working with our NHS and local authority partners to ensure that people who need hospital and emergency care can get treatment quickly and to identify any additional support that allows us to discharge patients who do not require acute hospital care. As anticipated, the pressure is greatest in our emergency departments, which are facing continued challenges as patients cannot be admitted to beds promptly."

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The director further warned of potential delays to services, reports Express and Star. He added: "During this time the emergency departments will continue to see the sickest patients first, which means, for some patients, there may be much longer delays than usual. We continue to ask the public to help us by only using A&E in a serious or life threatening emergency." The Mirror has contacted the trust for comment.

Monica Charsley