Covid: Critical incident stood down at Lincoln hospital

Patients should still attend hospital appointments unless contacted directly

A "critical" incident declared at a Lincolnshire hospital after a sharp rise in patients requiring admission has ended.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust declared the Lincoln County Hospital incident on Monday night but ended it on Tuesday afternoon.

The trust, which runs four hospitals, said it was currently treating a total of 198 patients with Covid-19.

It said that was higher than in the first coronavirus wave.

• More Lincolnshire stories

Mark Brassington, the trust's deputy chief executive, said: "We unfortunately had to declare a critical incident at Lincoln County Hospital yesterday due to a surge in patients requiring admission and staffing shortages in some areas.

"Due to the outstanding efforts of our staff and partners across the system, the situation has improved over the course of today and we have been able to stand down from the critical incident this afternoon."

The trust previously declared a critical incident at both Lincoln County and Boston Pilgrim in November due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 patients and staffing shortages.

At that time it cancelled staff training, study leave and non-clinical time, as well as annual leave where possible.