A major incident was declared at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge on Tuesday (6th January).
The hospital is the seventh to declare a major incident this week, as reports suggest staff are struggling are cope with the level of demand being placed on them.
Major incidents, so-called because they present a serious threat to patients’ health, have also been declared elsewhere in the UK in recent months.
Other hospitals to declare major incidents in England are Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Cheltenham General Hospital, Stafford Hospital, Royal Stoke University Hospital, Scarborough Hospital and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals.
Dr Keith McNeil, chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said that since New Year’s Eve, Addenbrooke’s Hospital had been under “extreme pressure”.
“We have declared a major incident… due to unprecedented levels of demand on our services, with especially high numbers of frail, elderly patients, combined with a record level of patients whose medical care is finished and whose discharge is delayed,” he said.
Chief Executive of Royal Stoke University Hospital, Mark Hackett, cited an “outbreak” of pneumonia in the area, resulting in them needing to accommodate around 90 people at the hospital and consequently declaring a major incident.
Meanwhile Mike Proctor, Deputy chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said that Scarborough Hospital was in a better position than it was on Monday (5th January) however was not in a position to de-escalate.
The trust is attempting to open additional beds at other hospitals which “might relieve pressure.”
Over in Chertsey, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals said that the pressure on A&E units had now eased and it was no longer needing to cancel outpatient appointments. It added however that it has needed to postpone a “considerable” proportion of non-urgent operations.
The pressure being placed on A&E units across the UK has been well-documented in recent weeks. Today’s news comes as official figures reveal that waiting times at A&E units in England are at their worst in a decade, with just 92.6 per cent being seen to in the expected four-hour timeframe instead of the target 95 per cent.
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