Cornwall's main hospital declares 'critical incident' due to extreme pressure
Demand on our health system is higher than at any other point during the pandemic
Last updated 21st Oct 2021
Cornwall's main hospital has declared an 'internal critical incident' due to extreme pressures.
That is a level up from OPEL 4, which is also known as black alert.
NHS bosses in the Duchy says the unprecedented demand on health and care services here is at its highest level of the pandemic.
Over 100 people attended A&E at Treliske on Wednesday night (20th October) with more than 25 ambulances queuing as they waited to hand over patients.
There was another surge in patients using emergency care services in Cornwall at the weeked. RCHT issued a plea to avoid A&E or calling 999 unless it is life or death.
Last month the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust temporarily suspended all planned routine and urgent surgery as it continued to face high pressure.
Treliske has been in-and-out of so-called 'black alert' since May, and was on the highest alert level, also know as Opel 4, for the entire summer holidays.
Cornwall's ambulance service also declared a major incident in September because of high demand, separate to the critical incident the service declared back in May following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Now hospital bosses are urging people to help ease the pressure by collecting loved ones as soon as they are ready to leave.
Speaking on behalf of the NHS in Cornwall RCHT Medical Director, Dr Allister Grant said:
“There is unprecedented demand on health and care services in Cornwall, more so this week than at any point during the pandemic. As a result, we have escalated our operational level from OPEL4 to an internal critical incident.
“Pressure will always be most visible at the Emergency Department where ambulances are waiting, and our priority here is to move people into wards as soon as we can. Last night (Wednesday into Thursday) there were over 100 people in the emergency department – it is designed to accommodate 40 people at any one time - and more than 25 ambulance crews waiting to handover patients to go to their next call.
“Even though they are already working extraordinarily hard, our staff are supporting the opening extra inpatient areas not only in our hospitals but in care homes who have beds available but not the staff to open them.
“Families, friends and neighbours are urged to help us, too, by offering to support someone waiting for home care to leave hospital sooner, and we would ask them to contact the ward directly if they can help in any way. Getting someone home a day or two sooner will mean we can free up a vital hospital bed for someone else in urgent need.”