‘Critical incident’ declared at Nottingham University Hospitals

BREAKING

It marks the second time the trust has declared a critical incident in less than two months.

"We have been working tirelessly all week to mitigate the pressures we are currently seeing, but this has not had the desired impact, and so declaring a critical incident is necessary to protect patient safety," Andrew Hall, chief operating officer at NUH, said.

NUH says demand is particularly significant in A&E, which has led to patients having "unacceptable and lengthy waits" in corridors.

They also say they have seen a significant increase in patients with respiratory issues.

The hospital says more than half of beds are currently taken up by patients aged over 80.

NUH say they are asking staff to work additional shifts and they're moving to create more bed space to help with flow through the hospitals.