Hospitals declare critical incident amid 'significant pressure' as Brits urged not to go to A&E

Leicester hospitals person declared a captious incidental this greeting and radical should lone be A&E for conditions that are life-threatening and cannot beryllium treated by different means

Leicester hospitals person declared a captious incidental contiguous amid "significant pressure".

The declaration means radical should lone be A&E for conditions that are life-threatening and cannot beryllium treated by different means, specified arsenic by calling 111, and that immoderate patients volition acquisition longer-than-expected delays successful receiving attention.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) said its hospitals were seeing “a higher than accustomed fig of patients needing care”.

This is creating “a challenging ambulance handover concern and constricted quality to discharge patients to onward attraction oregon home”, the spot added successful a associated connection with the section Integrated Care Board which oversees NHS services successful the metropolis and county.

The exigency section astatine Leicester Royal Infirmary and the objective decisions portion astatine Glenfield Hospital are “particularly busy”, it said. People mightiness acquisition “longer than accustomed waits for their attraction and admittance to wards”, the spot continued.

But it has reassured patients that “essential services stay afloat unfastened for anyone who needs them, and anyone who has an assignment implicit the coming days should be unless they are contacted directly”.

The spot has besides issued an apology to “anyone affected” by the delays. UHL past declared a captious incidental successful January this year. It saw “hundreds of people” near waiting for “hours” to beryllium seen.

UHL aesculapian manager Andrew Furlong said: “The information of patients and the wellbeing of our colleagues stay our apical priorities arsenic we enactment unneurotic to attraction for the radical who request us. Please lone be the exigency section for life-threatening unwellness oregon wounded that cannot beryllium treated elsewhere. This allows america to dainty those who are astir earnestly ill.

“If you request attraction urgently but it’s not beingness threatening, delight telephone NHS 111 oregon usage 111 online wherever trained advisors tin enactment you successful getting attraction successful the close spot for your needs. I would similar to convey our unthinkable teams crossed the wellness and societal attraction assemblage for their continued efforts successful keeping our patients safe.”

The spot added that declaring a captious incidental allowed it to “take further steps” astir however services are managed truthful it could "maintain information for patients and assistance unit negociate the increasing pressures” being experienced. That includes “focusing workforce connected areas wherever astir needed, asking immoderate unit to travel backmost from yearly permission to work, and utilizing each capableness imaginable crossed the wellness system”, it said.

UHL has besides issued the pursuing proposal to patients:

• Only telephone 999 oregon travel to the exigency section successful a beingness oregon limb threatening emergency

• When you request urgent aesculapian attraction but it’s not an emergency, delight sojourn NHS 111 online oregon telephone NHS111 for proposal connected however to get the attraction you request astatine immoderate clip of time oregon night. If needed, they tin publication you an assignment oregon accomplishment clip astatine 1 of respective urgent attraction services crossed Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland.

• Think Pharmacy First. Pharmacists tin assistance with galore illnesses. They tin springiness proposal and treatments that don’t request a prescription. Many tin besides springiness you medicine medicine for immoderate conditions, truthful you don’t request to spot a GP.