A hospital in Portsmouth has declared a critical incident today and as it warns it has limited space to treat patients.
The Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust declared a critical incident at Queen Alexandra Hospital this afternoon due to "extreme pressures" on their services.
They warned patients to not come unless it is a "life-threatening emergency", as there are no free beds.
The hospital is working on "safely discharging as many patients as possible", the trust added.
It comes hours after six hospitals issued a joint warning for people to stay away from emergency departments except for in "genuine, life-threatening situations", after a surge in numbers left some patients waiting for up to 12 hours.
Paramedics and patients today spoke of 'hectic' queues of ambulances outside the entrance to the Accident and Emergency department at QA Hospital in Portsmouth.
Up to 10 ambulances could be seen parked in bays outside A&E with their engines on - waiting to transfer patients they had picked up into the hospital.
One paramedic, who had recently arrived with a patient but was instructed by hospital staff to wait with his vehicle until some space opened up in the ward, said the scene was nothing compared to what he saw last night.
The middle-aged medic, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We've just turned up now and we've been told to wait. We're holding a patient.
"We're not sure how long we'll be here for - we're just waiting to see what the answer is. It was busier last night than now... it was a bit more hectic last night.
"There were ambulances queuing to get into the A&E department."
One patient who had arrived in the afternoon said she too saw queues of ambulances when she got to the hospital.
The elderly woman, who was helped into her car by her son and gave her name only as Pam, said: "It was much worse when I arrived here earlier today, at about two o'clock.
"When I came out there were some ambulances queuing and lots of people around.
"But the service, once I got inside the building, was fantastic."
It comes after hospital trusts across West Yorkshire and Harrogate in North Yorkshire said the current pressures have left them with no choice but to prioritise patients presenting with acute illness or injuries. The area covers more than 2.5 million people.
Last month, they released a statement saying Covid patients are still placing "significant strain" on their hospitals.
West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts said its most recent emergency department figures show a 14.2% increase in attendance compared with the same week last year.
Some homebirth services in the regions have been suspended because ambulances may not be able to get to pregnant mothers in time if something went wrong.
The REACT swab testing study for England this week found one in every 12 over 55 year olds had the virus as of March 31 and this was still rising.
Latest data shows 20,398 people were in UK hospitals with Covid-19 as of Monday.
This includes both patients admitted for Covid and patients in for other conditions who test positive once admitted for other ailments.
All Covid-19 positive patients have to be isolated from general patients which takes up staff and bed capacity.
This is the highest since the January 2021 surge when 39,256 tested positive on wards. The number in hospital reached 20,050 in January 2022.
Dr John Knighton, Medical Director for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: "Our immediate priority is to ensure there are beds available for our most seriously ill patients and that we and the ambulance service can respond to patients across our communities in an appropriate time frame.
"We need our communities to help to ensure patients ready for discharge are collected immediately so that we can admit patients requiring our help.
"Do not come to the emergency department or call 999 unless it is a life-threatening emergency.
"Think about where else you can get help, such as an urgent treatment centre."Our staff are working incredibly hard to keep our patients safe, so please do what you can to help them."
A statement on the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust website read: "Due to extreme pressures on services across the Queen Alexandra Hospital site, and an increasingly challenging staffing position as a result of sickness, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has declared a critical incident.
"Through the incident, we are focusing our actions to prioritise the provision of critical, emergency services. The safety of our patients and our staff remains our top priority.
"Our beds are full and our Emergency Department (ED) remains full with patients requiring admission. We have limited space to treat emergency patients and we are only able to treat patients with life-threatening conditions and injuries.
"Please do not attend the ED unless it’s an emergency. Non-emergency attendances will not be seen and will be redirected to the Urgent Treatment Centres at St Mary’s Hospital, Gosport and Petersfield.
"Do not call 999 unless it is a serious or life-threatening emergency as the ambulance service is also under intense pressure and operating under a critical incident.
"Our immediate priority is to ensure there are beds available to admit our most seriously ill patients into and will be focusing on safely discharging as many patients as possible. We ask that families and loved ones support us with this and collect patients as soon as they are ready to be discharged.
"We will be reviewing the situation regularly and thank you for all your support during this difficult and busy time."
