Salisbury District Hospital declares 'internal critical incident'

The hospital declared the internal critical incident at 07:50 BST

Salisbury District Hospital has declared an internal critical incident.

It said this was due to an increased length of ambulance handover delays, staff sickness and the number of patients waiting to be discharged.

Chief operating officer Andy Hyett said: "We're seeing a perfect storm of a high number of people needing to come to hospital and a low number of staff.

"Not just in hospitals but across the care setting as well. Those two things together are a big challenge for us."

The hospital declared the internal critical incident at 07:50 BST.

"We are currently operating at a critical incident level which means we are unable to deliver the comprehensive care that we need to," Mr Hyett added.

'Incredibly sorry'

Last week the hospital had warned it was "under tremendous pressure" and that its "A&E is very busy".

It urged patients that unless they were "acutely ill and need urgent hospital treatment" to not attend so that it could care for patients with severe or life-threatening injuries and illness.

The hospital is urging patients to use alternatives to A&E, including the Salisbury Walk-in Centre and NHS 111 online and by phone.

Teams across the hospital have implemented back-up plans in an attempt to resolve some of the issues so that it can remain open and safe, a spokesperson said.

Deputy CEO Lisa Thomas said: "I am incredibly sorry for the disruption and would like to thank our community in advance for working with us to try and alleviate some of the pressure that we're currently experiencing, and to patients for their tolerance and understanding."