Hospital trust declares critical incident

A hospital trust has declared a critical incident warning that it is facing extreme pressure.

University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) said it had been experiencing extremely high demand for all its services, particularly its emergency department at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

A&E was facing ongoing challenges as patients were unable to be admitted to beds promptly, the trust said, warning that some patients may face long delays before they were treated, as it focused on the most poorly.

Declaring a critical incident helped staff to take additional measures to maintain safe services for patients, said UHNM.

The trust runs Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford, and last declared a critical incident in December.

"Our teams work tirelessly to keep patients safe," stated UHNM deputy chief operating officer Mike Goodwin, who said they were working with the NHS and local councils to ensure people who needed hospital and emergency care could get treatment quickly.

They were also looking to discharge patients that did not require hospital care, Goodwin added.

People were urged to help the situation by only using A&E in a serious or life-threatening emergency and picking up patients as soon as they were released from hospital.

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