Hospitals in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire declare critical incident amid mounting pressure

Hospitals in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have declared a critical incident due to mounting pressure on the system.

The NHS in the county says there is currently a significant demand for all services, with hospitals seeing a high number of patients arriving at Accident and Emergency departments.

Health bosses say the critical incident has been declared in order to protect patient safety, while staff do everything they can to care for patients in a safe and timely way.

But they say the sheer number of people needing care, coinciding with reduced staffing levels while Junior Doctors stage the longest strike in NHS history, means there are very long waits at A&E and for admission to wards.

Dr Dave Briggs, Medical Director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said; “Please only attend A&E if it is vital, this means a life-threatening illness or injury that cannot be treated elsewhere, this allows us to treat those who need us the most.

"There are things everyone can do to help, and we are asking people to use our services wisely and to think about self-care as an option for some conditions, such as coughs and colds, before automatically going to the NHS for help.

“If self-care isn't an option, then choosing the right service will help patients to get the right treatment first time and usually more quickly – 111 online is a great resource to help with that.

"One way the public can help us is by supporting our NHS teams to get your relatives home from hospital if they are medically fit to leave. We are grateful to everyone who has taken steps to help, and we would like to thank our incredible teams across the health and social care sector for their efforts in keeping the public safe."

As a result of the critical incident, health bosses are asking people to follow these instructions:

• Only call 999 or attend A&E if there is a life-threatening emergency. Non urgent attendances will be redirected to other services for onward care and treatment.

• When you need urgent medical care but it’s not an emergency, please visit NHS 111 online or call NHS111 for advice on how to get the care you need at any time of day or night.

• Urgent Treatment Centres treat injuries including sprains, strains, suspected fractures, bites, cuts, scalds and other non-emergency conditions. Waiting times are usually much shorter than A&E. We have UTCs at:

  • Nottingham – The NHS Urgent Care Centre (next to the BBC building) is open every day from 7am-7pm. You don’t need an appointment to attend. Seaton House, London Road, Nottingham, NG2 4LA Tel: 0115 883 8500

  • Newark – Newark Hospital is open 9am-10pm (last patient admitted at 9.30pm). It can be found on Boundary Road, NG24 4DE

• Use the NHS App for access to a wide range of services and information, such as accessing medical records, booking and managing appointments, reviewing medication and ordering prescriptions as well as checking symptoms.

• Members of the public can also help ease pressures by using their local pharmacy. Pharmacies can help with allergies, constipation, headaches, earaches and many other ailments. You can find opening hours for your local pharmacy here – 

  https://www.nhs.uk/service- search/pharmacy/find-a- pharmacy