Major UK health and care system declares ‘critical incident’ over ‘Covid pressures’

THE health and care system in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin has declared a critical incident due to continued and unprecedented pressure on its services.

Making the announcement late on Friday, August 12, the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin health and care system declared a critical incident.

“We are continuing to see significant levels of Covid-19 in our hospitals, alongside high numbers of patients arriving at our hospitals for other conditions,” the Trust wrote.

“There are extended waiting times to access beds within our hospitals. This, paired with difficulties in discharging patients due to a lack of capacity across our care sector as well as staff absence due to Covid-19 is causing a significant strain on the system.

“As a result, the healthcare system is taking additional steps to prioritise and maintain safe services for patients. Our aim is to prioritise patients with the highest level of need and ensure that we continue to be able to manage emergency care.

“This means that some non-urgent operations, where patients require a stay in hospital, will be postponed to prioritise patients with the most urgent clinical need.”

It added: “We regret that it has been necessary to take this step, but it is important that we focus on patients needing urgent and emergency care as a priority. If you are not contacted directly about an operation being postponed, please continue to attend your appointment as usual.

“This critical incident is an indication of the serious pressure the system is facing. We are working extremely hard to ensure people are kept safe but there are ways that you can help.

“Our teams are continuing to work exceptionally hard, and we would like to reassure the public that despite the challenges faced, our services remain open for anyone who needs them.”

You can view the recommendations on ‘what you can do to help’ the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin health and care system here – as they struggle through the critical incident.

According to the Covid tracker ‘Our World in Data’, the UK registered 205 new cases on Friday, August 12.

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