Nottingham hospitals declare critical incident over ‘unacceptable waits and risk of harm’

Nottingham hospitals declare critical incident over ‘unacceptable waits and risk of harm’ Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has seen "record breaking attendances and sustained pressure" on services in the last two weeks An NHS trust has declared a critical incident due to patients facing "unacceptable and lengthy waits on corridors". Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has seen "record breaking attendances and sustained pressure" on services in the last two weeks. The trust, which runs Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital, said it recorded 2,000 more A&E attendances last month than in September last year. NUH warned there have been "particularly high" numbers of cardiology patients requiring intensive care levels over prolonged periods of time. This caused resources to be diverted from other areas, causing further pressure. When it declared a critical incident yesterday, the trust said it had more than 200 patients in its A&E, with more than 100 waiting to be seen. A statement from NUH read: "This is an unacceptable level and increases the risk of harm. "We have more than 200 patients in our hospitals who are safe to leave our hospitals, which is almost eight wards of patients who no longer need to be here. Patients are having unacceptable and lengthy waits on corridors in A&E. Staff are working under extreme pressure." Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse at NUH, explained the trust has been "working hard" to mitigate the pressures, focusing on getting patients seen and home "quickly and safely". "Despite this, we still find ourselves in an incredibly difficult position today and have declared a critical incident to protect our patients and support our staff," she said. Ms Pilcher continued: "We recognise that significant waits to be seen and corridor care is not the way our staff want to work or our patients want to be seen, and for that we are very sorry. Please be reassured that we are doing all we can and hope that the actions we are taking will improve the situation as soon as possible. "Getting patients out of the hospital when they are ready is vital to improving our position. We currently have 200 patients in our hospitals who no longer need to be here. "If you have a family member in our hospitals who is ready to return home, we would urge you to collect them as soon as possible. This helps those patients returning home, who will recover better, and those who urgently need our care." The trust the said later in the evening that almost 250 patients had been safely discharged but that QMC and City remained "under significant pressure". People have been urged to collect their relatives as soon as possible after treatment and only attend A&E in an emergency or serious accidents. The trust has also encouraged patients whose situation is not life-threatening to contact 111 first and use urgent treatment centres for injuries like sprains and cuts.