A CRITICAL incident has been declared at Nottingham’s hospitals as they’re put under “sustained pressure”.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) declared the incident on Monday.
A critical incident has been declared at Nottingham’s hospitals
The trust, which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital, said it remains in place on Tuesday.
Some patients reportedly waited around 36 hours in emergency departments on October 30.
Dr Tasso Gazis, divisional director of medicine at the trust, told the BBC: “I can only apologise. That is really not the care that a hospital like this wishes to provide or my colleagues wish to provide.
“My colleagues will have done their very best to make sure personal and medical needs are met, but this isn’t a way that we would like to be treating people, and I would like to apologise to people waiting an inordinate amount of time for a bed.”
A spokesperson for NUH stated: “A critical incident has been declared at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust as our Emergency Department (ED) at Queen’s Medical Centre is currently experiencing sustained pressures and we are asking the public to think wisely before they attend.
“Our staff are working tirelessly to care for patients, but the demand on our services is causing very long waits for patients to be seen in our ED and then to be admitted to a ward. This is causing overcrowding in our ED.
“The public can help by only attending our Emergency Department for serious accidents for life threatening emergencies.
“Where the situation is not life-threatening, alternative support will be available through NHS111 online or by calling 111.”