Emergency departments in England have been turning away non-critical patients as their wards are overwhelmed by a surge in patient demand.
A lack of hospital beds in emergency department wards throughout the country has forced NHS trusts to declare critical incidents against the backdrop of a major strike by ambulance workers.
On 19 December Nottinghamshire was the first area to declare a critical incident when it was forced to postpone non-urgent operations that required patients to stay in the county’s hospitals.1
Keith Girling, medical director of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said that an increase in illnesses and injuries caused by the recent cold spell had forced medical facilities to redirect the efforts of doctors and nurses towards the most critical patients.
Girling said in a statement, “Over recent days we have …