Warning about long delays at Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole hospitals' A and E departments

Staff at Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole hospitals have put out a warning about long delays at A and E.

The Trust in charge say around 200 to 250 patients are turning up at their emergency departments every day.

But only about a fifth actually need to be admitted, which is causing big delays.

Here's the full statement from the Trust:

We’re sorry to say that our hospitals remain extremely busy and we’re appealing to you again today to avoid coming to our Emergency Departments unless you really need to.

Our staff are working tirelessly, ensuring that if you do need us, you will be given the care you need.

However, our Emergency Departments and many of our main hospital departments are full and waiting times are significantly higher than we would like.

This is due to a combination of high numbers of patients already being cared for in our hospitals, who are not yet well enough to be discharged, coupled with high demand in our Emergency Department with significantly ill patients and limited capacity for domiciliary care and within care homes in our communities.

This is not something which is affecting our Trust in isolation. Across the region, hospitals are reporting significant levels of demand.

Our priority will always be to give you the best care possible, and our teams are working incredibly hard to see patients as quickly as we can.

However, we are seeing between 200 and 250 patients in our Emergency Department every day and, on average,18% of these patients need to be admitted, which is leading to delays.

If you need to come to hospital, please do so. We are always here for you when you need us.

However, if you have an urgent medical problem and you’re not sure what to do, please call the NHS 111 line for advice from their specialist clinical team.

You can also speak to your GP or pharmacist for advice and, if you live in North East Lincolnshire or are registered with a GP in the area, you can call the Single Point of Access (SPA) clinical team on 01472 256256.

Anyone coming to A&E who doesn’t need urgent emergency treatment is likely to have a long wait, as we will always prioritise seeing patients in the greatest need of our care.

Thank you for your understanding and support.