Royal Liverpool Hospital A&E patients waiting up to 50 hours
Patients at Royal Liverpool University Hospital A&E face waits of up to 50 hours.
University Hospitals Liverpool NHS Foundation Trust has declared a “serious incident” due to “exceptionally high demand” for services and urged people to only go to emergency departments for genuine medical emergencies.
The hospital said it was “extremely busy” due to rising numbers of patients with influenza and other respiratory illnesses.
Serious incidents were also declared in the East Midlands and Cornwall.
this East Midlands Ambulance Service The county, which covers Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, announced the first serious incident in its history due to “high patient demand, pressure on hospitals and flooding”.
Meanwhile, health chiefs are asking people who have the flu, coronavirus, norovirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to stay away from the virus Royal Cornwall Hospital Accident and Emergency Department In Truro.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Liverpool NHS Foundation Trust said emergency measures were in place so managers could seek extra help and make changes to keep patients safe.
He said the major incident announcement was due to the “particularly high demands on our emergency departments, particularly with influenza and respiratory illnesses, and the volume of patients”.
He said the decision was taken to “support the safe care and treatment of our patients, which is our absolute priority”.
The trust said administrators are working with partners to ensure that healthy people can be safely discharged from hospital as early as possible.
A spokesman for the trust said staff were “working extremely hard” to treat patients as quickly as possible, but warned some patients “will experience longer waits while we treat our sickest patients”.
We urge non-urgent patients to refer to other services such as their GP, local pharmacy or appointment centre.
“In recent weeks, our emergency departments have seen an increase in the number of people suffering from influenza and respiratory illness,” the spokesman said.
For those who go to the emergency room, they are asking patients and visitors to follow additional infection control measures to help curb the spread of influenza and norovirus.
“This includes practicing good hand hygiene, only going to areas of our hospital where you need to go, and wearing a mask as required in clinical areas,” the spokesman said.
