NHS trust declares critical incident amid 'days of sustained pressure'

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust says it has faced "days of sustained pressure"

A critical incident has been declared at an NHS trust, which has faced "days of sustained pressure".

Zoe Notley, from Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, asked patients to only attend the hospital if they have a "life-threatening or emergency condition".

She said staff were "working tirelessly" to look after patients.

It was declared at 09:30 GMT on Thursday and will be in place until further notice, she added.

"We've been seeing increased level of attendance since Sunday and we escalated to our highest operational level," she said.

"Despite everyone's effort to try and get flow moving through the hospital, sadly this morning we've come in to a deteriorating picture."

'Longer than normal'

The move comes as Joined Up Care Derbyshire said the NHS across the county was under increased pressure.

Dr Chris Weiner, NHS Derby and Derbyshire chief medical officer, encouraged patients to "think which service" is right for their needs.

"Larger numbers of people than usual have been attending our emergency departments and as a result wait times are longer than normal," he said.

"Accessing the right service at the right time and in the right place means that emergency ambulances and hospital department clinicians can focus on treating people whose life is most at risk."