Nottingham and Nottinghamshire health and care system declares critical incident

The health and care system in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has declared a critical incident.

We are continuing to see high numbers of patients arriving at our hospitals, high demand for all services across the system, extended waiting times to access beds within our hospitals and difficulties in discharging patients.

As a result, the health and care system is taking additional steps to prioritise and maintain safe services for patients. Working together as a system, we will provide mutual aid, maximise resources to manage urgent and emergency care pressures and coordinate our incident management.

Our aim is to prioritise patients with the highest level of need and ensure that we continue to be able to manage emergency care.

In some areas of the county, this means that some operations and outpatient appointments may be postponed to prioritise patients with the most urgent clinical need. 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.

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. However, there are ways that you can help us.

What you can do to help

• Only call 999 or attend A&E departments for serious accidents and for genuine emergencies.
• When you need urgent medical care but it’s not an emergency, please visit NHS 111 online or call NHS111 for advice on how to get the care you need at any time of day or night.
• Urgent treatment centres – like the ones on London Road in Nottingham, Newark Hospital and Ilkeston Community Hospital – can help you get the care you need for dealing with the most common issues that people attend emergency departments for. They will often be able to help you get the care you need more quickly than accident and emergency departments if you are suffering from things like a burn or a sprain.
• For other non-urgent cases, when you need medical advice and it’s not an emergency, please speak to your GP practice or a pharmacist – see details of your local pharmacy here: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy
• If you have concerns about Strep A, please see the latest guidance at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/strep-a/
• Anyone who is in mental health distress should call the Mental Health Crisis Line: 0808 196 3779 – the helpline is open 24 hours a day.
• We know that most patients want to return home as soon as possible, especially at this time of year. If your relative is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do so as early as possible. This will help our teams and free up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.