Hospital bosses warn of system being 'fragile' as winter pressure builds on NHS

Hospital bosses are calling on people not to visit A&E unless they really need to as pressure builds on the NHS.

The Chief Operating Officer of Pinderfields Hospital in West Yorkshire has said that the situation is "fragile" with Christmas approaching.

Trudie Davies said that as pandemic pressure continue they are worried that their system could be overwhelmed.

She added: "If you have a need that you would normally think about going to the GP or you would call 111, and actually we saw this at the weekend we had lower number of patients attend our hospital on Sunday when it was cold, if the weather puts you off going to A and E you probably don't need to come to A and E."

Over the last two weeks over 200 people a day have been admitted across the Trust. That is likely to rise.

Today (Tuesday 30 November) the average waiting time for patients at Pinderfields A and E is around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Gillian Keegan MP, the Minister for Mental Health and Care, said that £5.9 billion had been put in place for the NHS so that it can cope with pressure over the winter.

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