Sandwell hospital trust still under 'unprecedented' A&E pressures as 'critical incident' declared

A 'critical incident' was declared by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust yesterday due to pressure on A&E departments.

The trust issued the warning to staff on Tuesday citing "unprecedented" numbers of patients needing care.

A&E departments at City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital are both run by the trust.

The trust confirmed that 'unprecedented' pressures continued this morning and said it was closely monitoring the situation.

Its statement to staff yesterday said: "We are currently seeing immense pressure on our emergency services and have had to declare a critical incident at our trust due to unprecedented numbers of patients waiting in our A&E departments at each of our hospitals.

"This is an extraordinary situation that requires immediate action."

The statement added: "Colleagues are working tirelessly to provide the best care possible under these challenging circumstances but it is clear we are stretched to capacity.

"We are doing everything we can to manage the situation including calling in additional staff and offering targeted support to those departments under pressure."

Staff were told to cancel any non-emergency appointments and meetings to help deal with the critical incident.

Richard Beeken, chief executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said: “We declared a critical incident due to a sustained spike in the numbers of patients coming to A&E for medical help, combined with higher staff absences due to short term seasonal sickness.

"It is an extraordinary situation that has required an extraordinary response and we remain in critical incident mode.

“Our staff are working tirelessly to provide the best care possible under these challenging circumstances, but we are stretched to capacity. We are doing everything we can to manage the situation, including calling in additional staff, redirecting resources and prioritising, but we would ask our communities to support us so we can continue to provide emergency medical care to those who need it.

"The simple things to do are:

• Get the vaccinations you are offered – Covid is still with us, and flu is on the rise.

• Do not delay seeking medical help – NHS111 online can advise what you should do, as the patients we are seeing in A&E are very unwell with conditions that have worsened due to delay.

• Help yourself by ensuring you have stocked up on your repeat prescriptions and have over the counter medications at home, such as painkillers, decongestants, and indigestion tablets.

“Due to the rise in respiratory infections across our communities we have reintroduced compulsory mask wearing in all clinical areas of our Trust, so if you need to come to our hospitals, please wear a mask.”