The ability of Nottingham hospitals to treat cancer patients may have reduced after a 'critical incident' was declared, bosses have said. It comes after officials at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust [NUH], which runs Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre, declared a third critical incident in just six months.
A critical incident is called when the level of disruption results in a local NHS organisation temporarily or permanently losing its ability to deliver critical services, with the organisation having to prioritise patients with the highest level of need. Directors at Nottingham University Hospitals NUH Trust (NUH) said some operations had been cancelled amid mounting pressures on the health service and its emergency department in particular, with a large amount of the demand attributed to a 'huge' increase in flu admissions owing to the recent cold weather.
On whether cancer patients will be affected, NUH medical director Keith Girling said he did not know the figures, but explained the trust "may have lost" some cancer activity specifically on Monday (December 19). "The ones that are the most time critical we have tried to maintain," he said. "I haven't had the data yet but we may have lost some cancer activity today."
Mr Girling said the pressures were present across the whole county, and the UK as a whole. But he explained that NUH had seen a 'huge' increase in flu patients after the recent cold snap, which saw temperatures drop to -7.8C in part of the county last week.
"We've seen a very significant increase in flu numbers and in elderly with respiratory diseases. A smattering of Covid but the flu is the biggest problem we've got.
"We've seen a huge increase in demands for respiratory beds in the last 72 hours. We've also seen a significant increase in trauma and patients falling and fracturing various limbs. So the cold snap has certainly had a very big impact."
Public health officials had previously spoken about the prospect of a so-called 'twindemic' - a combination of flu and Covid-19 over the winter, with some southern hemisphere countries having experienced their toughest flu season in years.
Mr Girling said patients who are very unwell should still go to the hospital. But he said patients were waiting longer than usual to be seen.
"If patients are not sure if they need to come to our emergency department then they should phone 111. If they do come to ED then I'm afraid they're going to be subject to very long waits to be seen and long waits for beds.
"It [patent wait times] depends on an individual basis. Whereas we would normally try and get people through in four hours, people are waiting a lot longer than that."
The news comes after nurses across Nottinghamshire voted to take part in the biggest walkout in NHS history. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have been calling for the Government to give nurses a pay increase of 19.2 per cent.
Staff at three Nottinghamshire NHS organisations voted to strike last month. These are NUH, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
A second strike is planned for December 20. Sherwood Forest Hospitals and East Midlands Ambulance Service, however, will not be affected. Meanwhile, officials at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - who run King's Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital and Mansfield Community Hospital - say they have not declared a critical internal incident.
Rachel Eddie, chief operating officer for Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “Demand for NHS services remains high across the country right now and we are so grateful to our hardworking NHS colleagues for the work they are doing to ensure that patients can continue to access the medical attention they need in as timely a way as possible this winter.
“One thing we can all do to help our local hospitals is to consider the full range of NHS services before they come to hospital when it’s anything less than a genuine emergency.
“This is particularly important while services are so busy and, by doing simple things like visiting your local pharmacy or going to ‘NHS111 Online’ for the advice you need before attending our Emergency Departments, you can help ensure our hospitals can continue to be there for the patients that need them most this winter.”
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