Sandwell and Birmingham hospitals stand down critical incident

Chief nursing officer Mel Roberts said there had been an increased number of people coming to A&E with flu

An NHS trust that was experiencing "immense pressure" at its hospitals has stood down a critical incident.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust said "exceptionally high numbers" of patients had been awaiting treatment in its A&E departments.

The trust includes Sandwell General Hospital, City Hospital in Birmingham and Rowley Regis Hospital.

Chief nursing officer Mel Roberts said there had been an increased number of people coming to A&E with flu.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust said they saw "exceptionally high numbers" of patients in A&E on Wednesday

The critical incident declared on Wednesday was stood down on Thursday morning, which Ms Roberts said was "thanks to the incredible efforts of colleagues who worked tirelessly to provide the best care possible under challenging circumstances over the last 24 hours".

"Our focus remains on continuing to safely manage the flow of patients within our hospitals and helping those that need emergency care in our A&E departments," she added.

'Worrying number'

Ms Roberts also stressed the "importance of having the flu vaccination".

More than 400 people are in hospital with flu across Birmingham and Solihull.

Prof Dhruv Parekh from University Hospitals Birmingham said they were seeing a "worrying number of patients being admitted" into critical care units with respiratory failure as a result of flu infection.

"We haven't seen these numbers of serious flu infections since before the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

Several hospital trusts across England have announced critical incidents in the past 24 hours, including in Greater Manchester and Surrey and Sussex.