NHS trust declares critical incident over high demand

An NHS trust has declared a critical incident due to "sustained and significant pressure" on its services.

Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in Surrey, said it was seeing a high number of people attending its emergency department, and there was a lack of available beds in inpatient wards.

Its chief medical officer, Dr Mark Roland, said: "Declaring a Critical Incident allows us to take additional steps to help maintain safe care for our patients and manage these pressures."

The trust, which has hospitals in Ashford and Chertsey, told the public to only call 999 or attend the emergency department for serious or life-threatening conditions.

Roland said: "Our staff are working incredibly hard in challenging circumstances.

"All essential services remain open, and anyone who needs emergency care should continue to come forward.

"We ask the public to choose services carefully and only come to A&E in an emergency, so our teams can focus on those who need emergency care most."

The trust said patients could continue attending appointments as normal unless contacted directly by staff to reschedule.

It is also asking visitors not to attend if they have symptoms of viral respiratory illness, or gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhoea or vomiting.

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