Fresh critical incident declared at Shropshire hospital trust

Patients in Shropshire should still attend routine appointments, said Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

A hospital trust has declared a further critical incident at its hospitals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) is urging people only to attend A&E for serious accidents and emergencies.

Sara Biffen, acting chief operating officer, said it was working with other parts of the NHS to manage exceptional pressures.

Essential services remain open and patients with routine appointments should attend as usual, it said.

A previous critical incident was introduced at the trust, which operates the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, on 29 March when hospitals in Shropshire were said to have the highest number of Covid patients since the pandemic began. It was stood down on 22 April.

It followed a series of critical incidents declared by the county's hospitals in January, February and March.