Critical incident declared at hospital

Access to the hospital was restricted while the incident was ongoing

A critical incident was declared at St George's Hospital in Stafford on Thursday with visitor access and some staff movements restricted.

Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) issued the notice in the morning, without specifying the nature of the incident.

However, by 16:00 BST it said the incident had been stood down.

Police and the fire service said they were called at about 07:30 BST following reports of concern for a man's welfare. They said the man had been "brought to safety" and "left in the care of medics".

During the incident, access across the hospital site, including some clinical and ward areas, was restricted.

Staff were told to go to the site only if required and use temporary access routes to ward areas.

The hospital's bistro was also closed and the NHS trust said plans were put in place to ensure patients continued to receive meals.