Patients urged to seek emergency treatment alone as flu cases continue to soar
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Patients have been urged to attend A&E alone as NHS hospitals grapple with high demand amid rising flu cases. Several NHS trusts declared critical incidents due to “exceptionally high demands” in emergency departments, with a patient at one hospital forced to wait 50 hours to be admitted to a ward.
In England’s north, York and Scarborough hospitals asked for public support by asking patients to seek medical attention alone where possible. Dr Ed Smith, deputy medical director at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our emergency departments are busy all year round but are exceptionally busy at the moment with a high volume of poorly patients attending.
“This means that the departments can often be overcrowded, with limited places to sit while waiting to be seen. “While we understand it’s appropriate for a friend or family member to accompany with a child or as a carer for example, if patients can attend alone, this will help free up much-needed space for other patients.”.
Dr Smith said local emergency departments were seeing more than 450 people a day, and staff were working in “challenging” circumstances. Hospitals in Northamptonshire, Cornwall, Liverpool, Hampshire, Birmingham and Plymouth have declared critical incidents, which remained in place overnight on Tuesday.
