MP raises crisis facing Cornwall's main hospital in Parliament and asks for support
Truro and Falmouth's Cherilyn Mackrory has spoken out after Treliske declared an 'internal critical incident'
Last updated 26th Oct 2021
The crisis facing Cornwall's main hospital has been raised in Parliament, after an 'internal critical incident' was declared at Treliske.
It was announced last Wednesday, after over 100 patients attended A&E and 28 ambulances were queueing outside.
The MP for Truro and Falmouth already written a letter to the Health Secretary to ask for government support.
Now Cherilyn Mackrory has repeated those calls to Health Minister Edward Argar, as he faced questions on that £5.9 billion pound funding package for the NHS.
Speaking in the Commons, Cherilyn Mackrory said: "There is unprecedented demand on health and care services in Cornwall, more so now than at any point during the pandemic.
"The Royal Cornwall Hospital in my constituency have just escalated their operational level from OPEL4 to an internal critical incident.
"Last week, 25 ambulances were queued up outside the Emergency Department.
"Is the Minister able to provide any additional support to help to de-escalate the hospital's operational level from internal critical incident?"
Edward Argar responded: "I do appreciate the pressures facing the NHS in Cornwall, particularly after the pressures they faced over the summer when other parts of the health system may experience slightly less pressure because of all the holidaymakers who quite rightly go to visit Cornwall.
"I look forward to further working with her on this and thank the staff at the trust for what they're doing.
"We do recognise the challenges which is why we are providing this extra capital funding, including capital funding from previous pots, to her trust, but I'm very happy to have a further meeting with her and her chief exec if she feels that would be helpful".
The Royal Cornwall is currently operating at the level above Opel 4, previously known as 'Black Alert'.
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