‘Stay away’ Health service plea as hospitals face ‘incredible’ pressure
BRISTOL’S NHS has asked patients to “stay away” from accident and emergency departments due to the “incredible pressure” on the hospitals at the moment.
Bristolians are being asked to use other services “unless absolutely necessary”.
The message came in a video posted to the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust’s social media channels. It featured an NHS doctor explaining how busy the hospitals were, warning patients about the possible wait times.
In a statement, the trust said its services were being affected by staffing challenges, patients with Covid-19 and the fact that some patients were medically fit to be discharged, but did not have an appropriate place to go to.
Dr Becky Thorpe, a consultant specialising in accident and emergency services, explained the latest situation in the video. According to her NHS profile, she works at Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and Weston General Hospital. The hospitals that are part of the Trust include these plus the Bristol Eye Hospital, South Bristol Community Hospital, St Michaels Hospital, and the University of Bristol Dental Hospital.
In the video, Dr Thorpe says: “Our hospitals, like the wider NHS and local health and care systems, are under incredible pressure at the moment. Please stay away from busy emergency departments unless absolutely necessary.
“If you do attend an emergency department, you may have a long wait or be redirected to another appropriate service if your illness or injury is not an emergency. Please think 111 first for all urgent but non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses, rather than visiting busy emergency departments. Thank you for your support.”
When asked for more information on what was putting so much pressure on Bristol’s hospitals, Professor Stuart Walker, medical director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said it was due to staffing challenges, Covid-19 patients and the fact that patients medically fit to leave hospital did not have appropriate places to go to.
He said hospitals and services across the UK were under pressure.
He added: “Like many hospitals across the country, we are under sustained pressure in our emergency departments. Patient safety is always our priority. We always aim to see and treat patients as quickly as possible, and all patients arriving at our emergency departments are triaged and assessed, with the most clinically urgent being prioritised.
“Like other hospitals, our ability to admit patients in a timely way is also being impacted by staffing challenges, the number of Covid-19 patients needing admission, and infection control guidance which means we have separate wards for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients to maintain safety, but this reduces the flexible use of our beds.
“We also face challenges in ensuring the timely discharge of medically fit patients. We are working together with local health and care partners to ensure that people who need hospital care can be admitted and then discharged from hospital safely as soon as they are medically well
enough to leave. Family and friends of patients can also help by being ready to collect their loved one from hospital when they are ready and supporting them when they get home.
“We would like to apologise to any of our patients who have experienced a longer wait at our emergency departments.”
New NHS figures reveal that staff absences in English hospitals due to Covid-19 have jumped more than 30 per cent week-on-week – the biggest increase since the start of the year.
The South West has seen the biggest rise in the whole of England, with a 44 per cent jump week-onweek. However, the total number of absences is still below the level reached at the peak of the Omicron wave in early January.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, warned on Wednesday that Covid-19 hospital admissions were expected to rise over the next two weeks. Sir Chris said the virus was causing pressure in the NHS but that high rates of transmission were not translating into intensive care cases and deaths.
A spokesperson from NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group said: “Our whole health and care system remains under significant pressure due to sustained high demand for services as well as staffing challenges associated with Covid-19.”
It reiterated the advice for people to ring 111 for urgent, but non-lifethreatening, conditions and also to ask for advice at pharmacies.