Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust declares it's running at 'critical incident' level again
Bosses say bed blocking is causing issues and ambulances have been held up as a result
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has declared it is running at 'critical incident' level again, which is the highest possible alert.
Bosses at Treliske say bed blocking is causing issues and ambulances have been held up as a result.
We're told the number patients ready to be discharged with no onward care has risen by over 20 percent since April.
Over the weekend, over 500 people attended Treliske and the West Cornwall Hospital, that is more than five coach loads of patients.
The minor injury units across Cornwall saw 317 and 280 attendances on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Overall over 1,100 people were seen.
Overall over 1,100 people seen.
Now Cornwall's hospital bosses are making repeat calls to avoid A&E at Treliske unless it is a life-threatening emergency,
RCHT Chief Executive, Steve Williamson said: “As a result of the acute pressure on our hospitals we are stepping up our escalation level to an internal critical incident.
“The number of people ready to leave our acute and community hospitals but waiting for care home places or care at home has risen by well over 20 percent since April. Without these delays, ambulances would not be held, and we would have enough hospital beds to admit people needing emergency and planned care.
“Although our covid positive inpatient numbers have doubled in the last week, these patients are mostly in hospital for other reasons and effective infection prevention and control measures mean they are not impacting hugely on the availability of beds.
“Declaring an internal critical incident galvanises system partners to take additional and immediate steps to create capacity to aid the movement of patients through our hospitals and consequently releasing ambulances and their crews.
“Our population can help too by making sure they make the right choice if they need urgent care, either by contacting their own GP, even if here on holiday, seeing a pharmacist or calling 111 for advice on the most appropriate place for their needs.
“If families have a relative in hospital who they could help to get home sooner by supporting them in their home whilst they get back on their feet, it will release beds for others who need our care. We urge them to talk to the ward team about how we can work together to make that happen.”
You can find information where else to go for treatment and check live waiting times at our main hospitals and urgent care centres on the RCHT website.