Critical incident declared at Dudley hospital over beds

Russells Hall Hospital declared a critical incident on Monday due to a shortage of beds

A critical incident has been declared at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley because of a shortage of beds.

Staff have been told to ensure that patients not receiving medical intervention were discharged.

The trust running the hospital has advised staff to escalate to senior managers or nurses any issues emerging as a result of the challenges.

"Pressure has been put on external partners for social care delays," Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust said.

Formally adopting critical incident status allows trusts to alert both partners and patients to on-site conditions, informing them the priority will be patients with the highest level of need.

'Significant demand'

Diane Wake, chief executive of The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: "In response to severe pressure on our services, we are taking action to prioritise and maintain safe services for our patients.

"We are seeing significant demand upon all our services across the Trust, including a high number of patients waiting for treatment in our emergency department.

"As a result of these high numbers there are long waits in our emergency department, and ultimately longer waits for admission into our wards."

Ms Wake said the trust's main focus was providing care for patients who needed urgent or emergency care, and those who were receiving in-patient care in the trust's clinical sites.

"Our staff are working tirelessly to provide the best possible care under these challenging circumstances in a safe and timely manner," she said.

"Our health and care services are continuing to work together to resolve the situation. If people need medical help, we would ask them to visit NHS 111 online or use a service in the local area such as a local pharmacist or GP."