Operations cancelled as critical incident declared in Staffordshire
Some operations are being cancelled in Staffordshire after a critical incident was declared in the county's hospitals.
The incident was declared on Thursday evening and affects all health and care organisations across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent council areas.
It is the result of the high demand on the health system and means some routine operations will be cancelled.
The decision was announced shortly after the NHS revealed its emergency departments had faced the busiest March in the history of the health service.
Meanwhile there are high numbers of patients waiting to be admitted to wards. Pressure also remains extremely high on the social care system due to coronavirus and staff shortages meaning many medically-fit patients are unable to be discharged from hospital.
Ambulances are often unable to unload patients into hospitals as a result of this lack of space and in turn response times for 999 calls to ambulances remain long.
Patients in Staffordshire have been urged to attend appointments at County Hospital in Stafford and Royal Stoke University Hospital unless told otherwise. People affected will be contacted directly.
Cancer patients are being prioritised and essential services remain open but people have been urged to avoid attending A&E unless necessary.
A spokesperson for the Integrated Care System apologised for the disruption and said: "Our hospitals are continuing to see exceptionally high levels of demand for the services we provide, along with the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, but we continue to prioritise those in most urgent need of treatment and urge people to get help when they need it by using NHS 111 online.
"As a system across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, we have had to call a critical incident.
"We apologise that some routine operations have been postponed but advise patients to attend appointments or operations unless contacted to reschedule. We are prioritising cancer operations.
"We are very sorry for those impacted by this and we would like to assure you that, despite the challenges faced, essential services remain fully open for anyone who needs them so if you require urgent medical help, please continue to come forward."
What you can do to help
There are number of things you can do to help the NHS, including:
Only call 999 or attend accident and emergency departments for serious accidents and for genuine emergencies
When you need urgent medical care but it’s not an emergency, 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 can help you get the care you need for dealing with the most common issues that people attend emergency departments for. They will often be able to help you get the care you need more quickly than accident and emergency departments if you are suffering from things like a burn or a sprain
Continue to treat all NHS staff with the respect they deserve. The NHS has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of any kind that targets our hard-working staff and volunteers when they are doing all they can to keep patients safe and supported
If you cannot make an appointment, please contact the number on your appointment letter so that it can be reallocated to another patient.
