Unprecedented' demand at city A&E as 630 patients turn up in one day
Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital broke its own record for A&E admissions twice in one week amid "unprecedented" demand for services.
On one day last week 630 people and more than 200 ambulances turned up at the New Cross emergency department, trust boss Professor David Loughton revealed.
He said he had "no explanation" for the steep rise in demand, but warned that it would "hinder" the hospital's efforts to restore services in the wake of the pandemic.
Prof Loughton said: "We are seeing absolutely unprecedented levels of A&E attendances, and that is happening in virtually 80 per cent of the hospitals across the West Midlands.
"Last week in my own hospital we broke our A&E attendance record twice.
"I have no explanation for it. In our peak we saw 630 walk-ins – and it's the walk-ins that really make life difficult in an A&E department – and on the same day we had over 200 ambulance attendances.
"I'm working with colleagues to find out exactly what is going on, but it is going to hinder our recovery. Obviously if you have 200 ambulances we come under bed pressures because of the emergency admissions that we see."
Prof Loughton said the busiest day for the emergency department was usually in July, and that it was concerning that "we have broken those levels already".
He urged people to consider other options before attending A&E.
"Talk to your GP, dial 111, please try and refrain from your first stop being the A&E department," he said.
Prof Loughton also revealed that "virtually 100 per cent" of people were now turning up for hospital appointments, a situation he described as "unique territory".
