Surrey hospital issues critical incident as patients are sent home over virus spread
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Patients with conditions not deemed life threatening have been told to go home from a hospital, where a critical incident has been declared. East Surrey Hospital has asked people to use NHS services such as 111, local pharmacies and GPs, as well as nearby treatment centres. The move was made to ensure emergency care is available for those who need it most.
Patients have been warned the hospital may need to reschedule non-urgent operations, treatments and outpatient appointments for the foreseeable future. Ed Cetti, Chief Medical Officer at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said: Due to high levels of demand and a sharp increase in winter viruses which is impacting staffing levels and how we move patients around our site, our services are under significant pressure.
“Our staff are working around the clock to minimise disruption to those already on our wards, treat all patients coming into our Emergency Department, and continue to discharge patients who no longer require acute care to ensure we have available beds for those who need admission, but please only attend East Surrey Hospital in a life-threatening emergency.
“If your condition isn’t life-threatening, please utilise other NHS services such as 111 online, your local pharmacy or GP, as well as nearby treatment centres at Crawley, Caterham Dene, Horsham and East Grinstead. This will help ensure emergency care is available to patients who need it most.”.
Visitors to the hospital are also being asked to follow infection control measures to help curb the spread of winter viruses such as flu and norovirus. This includes practicing good hand-hygiene, reducing their movement around the site, and wearing masks in clinical areas for the first time this winter.
