Isle of Wight health bosses declare new critical incident
It's the third one declared at St Mary's Hospital in Newport in the space of five months
Last updated 2nd Dec 2022
The Isle of Wight's NHS trust has declared a critical incident at the island's only hospital for the third time in five months.
It follows an increase in demand for emergency care at St Mary's Hospital in Newport.
Delays in discharging people home or into social care settings means services have again reached capacity.
In a statement, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said they may have to postpone some planned surgeries as a result of the incident.
They added that they would continue to prioritise cancer treatment and urgent operations, as well as those who have already had long waits for their treatment.
Similar critical incidents have already been declared six times since the start of 2022.
Juliet Pearce, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), said:
"Everyone is working hard to keep our patients safe and we are connecting with our Island partners for additional support.
"In the meantime we are appealing to our local community to help us ensure that patients get home as soon as possible and to only come to our Emergency Department (ED) for life threatening conditions and injuries.
"The safety of our patients and our staff is always our top priority."