Health care crisis at Cornwall hospitals

HEALTH and care services across Cornwall have been put at the highest alert level following severe pressure on facilities.

The services have been placed on OPEL 4, otherwise known as ‘black alert’ – the highest level of concern.

NHS England classifies a black alert as a “serious incident”. It means the system is under severe pressure and is unable to deliver certain actions and comprehensive emergency care, and usually means bed capacity has been met in hospitals.

Ambulance call outs, emergency admissions, demand for acute and community hospitals and the need for more care home places and home care packages have increased dramatically since lockdown restrictions began to ease after Easter.

NHS partners have responded following concerns about the “overcrowded” emergency department at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro this week.

More than 20 ambulances were photographed queuing outside the department on Monday and one visitor described it as a “dreadful state of affairs” and “dangerous”.

People were reported to have had to wait hours for a bed and were asked to queue outside the building at Treliske when it became overcrowded. The woman said: “I thought people had to be seen within four hours. I’ve not got anything against the staff – they worked so hard. There’s something wrong with the system. What are they doing there that means it’s so backed up?

“I don’t want anyone to experience what we experienced. It’s not even the summer season yet – what will it be like then?”

A spokesperson for the NHS in Cornwall said: “Declaring an OPEL 4 across all parts of our NHS and care system isn’t a decision that is taken lightly. All our health and care services are under intense pressure.”

In response to the high demand, health and care services across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are calling on residents and holidaymakers for their support by accessing services appropriately and using the 111 line when not an emergency.

“All of our health and care services are busy,” said Paul Cook, NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group chairman. “We need everyone to do their bit to support our teams to care safely for everyone by contacting their GP or 111 first.”