Critical incident declared at St Mary's Hospital after 'reaching capacity'

A critical incident has been declared by Isle of Wight NHS Trust due to an increased demand for emergency care.

St Mary's Hospital has reached capacity because of delays in discharging people home or into social care.

The Trust says it's under "significant pressure" and will now prioritise patients with life threatening conditions and injuries, in order to maintain a safe service.

In a statement, the NHS Trust said: "We will continue to prioritise cancer treatment and urgent operations, as well as people who have already had long waits for their treatment but may have to postpone some planned surgical activity. Patients will be contacted if this difficult decision is taken."

Juliet Pearce, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), said: "Everyone is working hard to keep our patients safe and we are connecting with our Island partners for additional support.

"In the meantime we are appealing to our local community to help us ensure that patients get home as soon as possible and to only come to our Emergency Department (ED) for life threatening conditions and injuries. The safety of our patients and our staff is always our top priority."