Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital declares critical incident due to bed shortage

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust said patients not receiving medical intervention were discharged in a bid to ease the situation.

Trust chief executive Diane Wake said: “In response to severe pressure on our services, we are taking action to prioritise and maintain safe services for our patients.

“We are seeing significant demand upon all our services across the trust, including a high number of patients waiting for treatment in our emergency department. As a result of these high numbers there are long waits in our emergency department, and ultimately longer waits for admission into our wards.

“Our staff are working tirelessly to provide the best possible care under these challenging circumstances in a safe and timely manner. Our main focus is providing care for patients who need urgent or emergency care, and those who are receiving inpatient care in our clinical sites.

“Our health and care services are continuing to work together to resolve the situation. If people need medical help, we would ask them to visit NHS111 online or use a service in the local area such as a local pharmacist or GP.”

Formally adopting critical incident status allows trusts to alert both partners and patients to onsite conditions, informing them that the priority will be patients with the highest level of need.

The trust added that essential services remained fully open for anyone in need of urgent gent medical help despite the challenges.