Patients wait over "ten hours" in A&E as critical incident stood down

Bosses warn services at University Hospitals Dorset remain under "extreme pressure"

Ambulances outside Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Author: Jason BeckPublished 3rd Jan 2023
Last updated 3rd Jan 2023

Some patients going to the A&E departments in Bournemouth and Poole have been waiting more than ten hours to be seen.

Bosses warn Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital remain under "extreme pressure", despite a critical incident being stood down.

Patients were urged not to visit A&E with minor injuries and ailments and to only call 999 in the event of a serious or life-threatening emergency.

Dr Tristan Richardson, medical director at University Hospitals Dorset, said: "I've been working in Bournemouth and Poole for 23 years and this is the worst year I have ever seen.

"We've got increasing Covid and flu, but actually we've got sicker people coming into our hospitals.

"There's far too long a wait for people in our A&E departments waiting to be seen, over ten hours, and that's not good enough."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.