Highest alert for Devon hospitals as pressure mounts

Hospitals in Devon are preparing to take extra measures to keep people safe as pressure mounts

The NHS in Devon has moved to the highest alert level to deal with the impact of medical staff strikes.

Consultants walked out on Tuesday for 48 hours and junior doctors followed suit at 07:00 BST on Wednesday.

NHS Devon has entered Opel 4 status and said it could mean patients are taken by ambulance to an emergency department not in their local area.

It said hospitals in the county were taking "all measures necessary" to help the sickest patients.

'Extreme pressure'

Opel 4 - the highest level of escalation - means pressure on the local health system continues to escalate, leaving organisations unable to deliver comprehensive care.

Devon's chief medical officer, Nigel Acheson, said: "We have been doing everything we can to keep patients and colleagues safe through this period of extreme pressure due to the industrial action.

"We are ready to put in place all measures needed to make sure we can look after the people who most desperately need our help.

"We are counting on the understanding of local people at this difficult time and we encourage everyone to follow the advice we are giving today."

The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital is among those affected

NHS Devon said the extra measures could involve people who are not critically ill being re-directed from hospital emergency departments to other services.

It said this would allow the reduced number of staff on shift to care for the patients most in need of emergency treatment.

It also said ambulances attending call-outs across Devon and parts of south east Cornwall may need to take patients to an emergency department which was not their local hospital, in order to be seen sooner, depending on the needs of the patient and the pressures in the emergency departments at the time.

The strikes mark an escalation of the pay dispute between the government and doctors.

NHS Devon said patients requiring urgent treatment, but who did not have symptoms of a life-threatening condition, should call 111 or use the 111 service online.

Although consultants ended their 48-hour strike on Thursday morning, NHS Devon said there were far fewer clinical staff in hospital emergency departments than usual.