The NHS trust that runs Nottingham's hospitals has stood down its critical incident one week after it was declared, but said 'severe pressures' still remain. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which is responsible for Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, raised the alert on December 29 due to increased demand on its services.
A critical incident is declared when front-line services are facing intense demand and means non-emergency hospital treatment is halted. Bosses at the trust took the decision to stand it down last night (Thursday, January 5).
The wider Nottinghamshire healthcare system remains in a critical incident situation. Michelle Rhodes, chief nurse at NUH, said the hospitals were under the most strain she has ever known. "The daily demand for beds from very poorly people is creating long waits to be seen in our emergency department and long waits to be admitted to one of our wards," she said.
