Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announce critical incidents at Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals
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Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced critical incidents in both the Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals on Tuesday, January 7. It comes as an expert commented that this flu season is the “straw that is breaking the camel’s back” when it comes to urgent care.
Critical incidents can be declared when health and care services are so busy that special measures are needed to restore normal operations and keep patients safe. Non-urgent patients have been warned they will face long waits in A&E and have been urged to “consider other options”, such as contacting their GP, visiting a pharmacy or calling NHS 111.
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Hide AdIn a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Due to sustained pressures at our Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals, we have declared a critical incident. Our emergency departments are facing extremely high attendance levels. Non-life-threatening conditions will result in long waits.”
A statement on the trust’s website added: “This decision has not been taken lightly; however, beds across both hospitals are full and attendance at our emergency departments is extremely high, which means there is currently no capacity to admit further patients needing our care.”
It urged people to “consider other options” for non-urgent medical care, such as calling NHS 111, contacting their GP, or going to a pharmacy or urgent treatment centre.
Last week, NHS data revealed the number of people in hospital with flu in England was more than four times the level it was a month ago, with officials warning cases are “rising at a very concerning rate.”
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Hide AdThe issue is not isolated to Hampshire with multiple trusts across the country declaring critical incidents in its hospitals.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told the PA news agency that this flu season is the “straw that is breaking the camel’s back”.
“This flu season is not an outlier, but the problem is our emergency care system is so overwhelmed and fragile that a normal flu season – which is what we’ve got at the moment – is creating severe operational difficulties,” he said.
“And it would be a mistake to think that this is solely a result of winter viruses. We have been chronically overloaded and overwhelmed for a number of years. It is a significant flu outbreak, but the problem is there’s just no capacity to deal with it. So it is really a straw that is breaking the camel’s back.”
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Hide AdHe added: “It’s important in terms of public safety that people seek help in the usual way.
“If they think they’re having an emergency, they should call 999. Likewise, they should try and contact their GP, or NHS 111. People will be seen but they may have long delays, either to be seen or if they need to be admitted, but we will try and do our absolute best to look after people.”
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