Nottingham's hospitals have issued a message to anyone with flu as NHS bosses across Nottinghamshire ask for the public to help as the healthcare system continues to face sustained pressures.
A message posted on twitter by NUH on Saturday morning states: "Please Help Keep Flu out of our Hospitals If you have symptoms of flu or other respiratory conditions, please don't visit our hospitals. Help us protect our most vulnerable patients and staff and reduce the spread of flu this winter. But please do visit when you're better."
It comes after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) - which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital - and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs King’s Mill, Newark and Mansfield Community Hospital, declared an internal 'critical incident' on Thursday (December 29).
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Officials at NUH said on Thursday they were facing a large number of people arriving at the Emergency Department who needed to be admitted to hospital suffering with respiratory conditions, including flu.
Now a joint message was issued by the local NHS trusts in an open letter to patients signed by Rosa Waddingham - Chief Nurse, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Phil Bolton - Chief Nurse, Sherwood Forest Hospitals; Michelle Rhodes - Chief Nurse, Nottingham University Hospitals; Ifti Majid - Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire Healthcare and Dr Tim Noble - Executive Medical Director, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals.
The statement reads: "Your local NHS is under the most strain we have ever seen – that’s why we need your help to avoid local services from being overwhelmed this New Year.
"The best thing everyone can do to help is to keep physically and mentally well. That will help to avoid you and your loved ones needing hospital care in the first place. Please also enjoy New Year responsibly – no-one wants to spend New Year in hospital!
"If you do need to come to an Emergency Department, please expect a long wait to be seen. Before coming to hospital, please remember that urgent care centres, pharmacies and NHS111 are all here to help when you need them. You can also find great advice by searching ‘NHS111’ online. Thank you for your continued support."
Speaking on Friday, December 30, Stuart Poynor, deputy chief executive at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “The NHS is open for business and our services are there for anyone who needs them but we are prioritising patients with the highest level of need, particularly those requiring urgent and emergency care.
“There are things everyone can do to help, and we are asking people to use our services wisely and to think about self-care as an option for some conditions, such as coughs and colds, before automatically going to the NHS for help. If self-care isn’t an option, then choosing the right service will help patients to get the right treatment first time and usually more quickly – 111 online is a great resource to help with that."
He added: "We are expecting the New Year bank holiday to be particularly busy so we are asking people to plan ahead around important things like repeat prescriptions but also to think about how they can support our health and social care system at the busiest time of the year. One way the public can help is by supporting our NHS teams to get your relatives home from hospital if they are medically fit to leave.”
People are asked to call 999 or attend the A&E departements only for serious accidents, or genuine emergencies. Those who need urgent medical care but it is not an emergency are urged to visit NHS 111 online or call the service for advice on how to get the care you need at any time of day or night.
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