Almost all hospital beds in Hampshire are now full and patients who are well enough will be sent home - even if Covid positive - amid extreme pressures

Leaders issued an urgent plea to communities amid a ‘perfect storm’ of rising pressure on services and rocketing Covid-19 rates.

Latest figures show almost every hospital bed across Hampshire and Isle of Wight is full, with more than 650 Covid positive patients being cared for in hospitals across the region – more than two and a half times higher than in early January during the peak of winter

And more than 2,800 staff working for Hampshire NHS organisations are off sick – with almost half of sickness absences due to Covid-19

As a result people arriving at emergency departments (ED) who don’t need emergency care will be redirected to other services to ensure patients experiencing life threatening emergencies or illness are cared for in a timely way.

Patients will also be discharged from hospital when they have received all of the acute care they need – even if they continue to test positive for Covid-19

Dr Derek Sandeman, chief medical officer for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System, said: ‘People working across health and care in Hampshire and Isle of Wight continue to go above and beyond the call of duty to give their patients safe care.

‘With staff sickness rates well above average, rising cases of Covid-19 and very high numbers of people needing treatment, we face a perfect storm – but there are some very specific ways in which people can help the frontline NHS and care teams.

‘If you have a loved one who is in hospital, please help staff to help get them home quickly when they are well enough – even if they are still testing positive for Covid. That is enormously important to help us make beds available for those in greatest need.

‘Our emergency departments are for those in greatest need – if you aren’t quite sure what help you need, please contact 111.nhs.uk to get the right help for you.’

As reported, both Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU), which runs Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, and the South Central Ambulance Service declared a critical incident today (April 6) due to ‘extreme pressures.’

Dr John Knighton, medical director at PHU, added: ‘As a result of the pressures we are facing across all our services and high levels of staff sickness, we have declared a critical incident to protect the provision of emergency services. Our immediate priority is to ensure there are beds available for our most seriously ill patients and that we and the ambulance service can respond to patients across our communities in an appropriate time frame.’