Hospitals on highest alert as pressure rises

NOTTINGHAM hospitals are on the highest alert level as pressures continue to grow on the service.

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) has been under Opel 4 level alert for two weeks, with health bosses saying the challenges of Covid have not gone away since the easing of restrictions.

The Opel 4 status, formerly known as black alert, is part of NHS England’s Operational Pressures Escalation Levels (Opel) framework, designed to bring consistency to the way hospitals handle a crisis.

It is when a hospital is “unable to deliver comprehensive care” and patient safety could be compromised.

Latest figures show that in Nottinghamshire there are 200 people with Covid in hospital beds with 26 being in the most critical condition.

At the same time the A&E teams are seeing increasing numbers of patients, with over 1,100 patients in just one day last week at King’s Mill and Queen’s Medical Centre.

It has prompted health bosses to remind patients the service is for emergencies only.

The trust has declared Opel 4 previously, due to a high number of patients.

Rachel Eddie, Chief Operating Officer at NUH NHS Trust, which runs the QMC and City Hospital, has urged the public to do their bit to help.

“We want to offer the best care to all of our patients whether it’s via A&E so they get the urgent care they need or a specialist team to treat cancer or other urgent conditions,” she said.

“Families can really help us at NUH by supporting their loved ones to go home whilst they await a care package or accept a placement in a care home.

“We know this is not ideal but we are grateful to families for continuing to do everything they can to support loved ones to return home so we can get patients who really do need to be in hospital into a bed quicker”.