More than a dozen hospitals across the country have declared critical incidents as emergency departments continue to be swamped by surging winter flu cases.
Bosses at the hospitals have declared the health system’s highest alert level as NHS England said flu cases on wards were more than triple than what they were last year, which has led to “mammoth demands” on health services.
Health services issue critical incident declarations when services become so overwhelmed they struggle to deliver critical services, risking patient safety. It means the service can call on partners for help with staffing.
Some hospitals have also restricted visitor numbers and encouraged people to wear surgical masks to limit the spread of viruses.
NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said frontline staff were under “exceptional pressure” due to the “ongoing cold weather snap and respiratory viruses like flu – all on the back of 2024 being the busiest year on record for A&E and ambulance teams.
Sir Stephen said people who need medical support should continue to use services as normal, including the NHS website, GPs and pharmacies. People should call 111 if they needed medical advice, and 999 and emergency departments should still be used in life-threatening emergencies.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust is the latest to declare critical incidents in Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal hospitals. A leaked memo from the trust showed they were preparing to urgently discharge 140 patients on Thursday and Friday in order to cope with “extreme winter pressures”.
The Independent has contacted Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust for comment.
Have you been affected by this? email bryony.gooch.ind@independent.co.uk
Here’s a list of which hospitals we know have declared a critical incident so far:
