Four NHS hospital trusts have declared critical incidents due to “significant and sustained pressures” on its services after a “surge” in complex A&E admissions.
NHS Surrey Heartlands said the situation is being “exacerbated by increases in flu and norovirus cases and an increase in staff sickness”.
The recent cold weather front has also impacted on more frail patients needing to be admitted to hospital, it said.
The critical incidents in Surrey affect three trusts – Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has also declared a critical incident due to “sustained pressures” at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.
It said its hospitals were experiencing “exceptionally high demand, driven by a continued high admission rate and a large number of patients with winter illnesses and respiratory viruses”.
The trust added that “beds across our hospitals are currently full and attendance at our emergency departments is extremely high, meaning there is very limited capacity to admit further patients who need acute care”.
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NHS Surrey Heartlands said the decision to declare critical incidents reflects “a level of NHS escalation that enables trusts to focus on critical services”.
It said it was the result of a surge in complex attendances to A&E departments and ongoing challenges in discharging patients who are well enough to leave hospital.
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust operates Royal Surrey County Hospital, Haslemere Hospital, Milford Hospital, Cranleigh village Hospital, Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, Royal Surrey Cancer Centre at East Surrey, Royal Surrey Cancer Centre at Ashford and St Peter’s, and Royal Surrey Cancer Centre at Frimley.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust operates Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital, and run services from other locations, including Sutton Hospital.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust runs East Surrey Hospital in Redhill and also provides services at The Earlswood Centre, Caterham Dene Hospital, Crawley Hospital and Horsham Hospital.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust runs Buckland Hospital, Estuary View medical centre, Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital, and William Harvey Hospital.
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