Critical incident ends at under-pressure NHS trust

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was once more subject to critical incident status this week

A critical incident declared by an NHS trust has been stood down.

The acute sites run by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) were said to be facing extreme challenges earlier this week.

On Tuesday, it announced its third critical incident in three months, forcing a system-wide push to free up beds.

The trust declared on Friday it had been stood down.

A critical incident is the highest alert level used by the NHS.

It allows bosses to take immediate steps to create capacity, including the cancellation of non-essential work.

Dr Nick White, chief medical officer for the NHS in Shropshire, previously said the pressures were due to ambulance handover delays and high demand for urgent emergency care.

He apologised for any inconvenience and said the trust remained committed to prioritising patients with the highest needs.

Shropshire has the second highest critical incident rate in the country behind Plymouth.

There have been 24 critical incidents declared between April 2021 and January 2024.