Four NHS hospital trusts have declared critical incidents as they face significant and sustained pressures from a surge in complex emergency admissions, winter illnesses and staff shortages.
Three trusts in Surrey and one in East Kent announced the escalation, which enables them to focus resources on critical services whilst ongoing challenges persist in discharging patients well enough to leave hospital.
The affected trusts are Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, and East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.
NHS Surrey Heartlands attributed the critical incidents to a surge in complex accident and emergency attendances, increases in flu and norovirus cases, higher staff sickness, and impacts from recent cold weather on frail patients requiring admission.
According to the organisation, beds across affected hospitals are currently full, with extremely high emergency department attendance and very limited capacity to admit further patients needing acute care.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust reported exceptionally high demand at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, driven by continued high admission rates and a large number of patients with winter illnesses and respiratory viruses.
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust operates Royal Surrey County Hospital, along with Haslemere Hospital, Milford Hospital, Cranleigh Village Hospital and multiple Royal Surrey Cancer Centres at various locations including East Surrey, Ashford and St Peter’s, and Frimley.
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust runs Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital, with additional services operating from Sutton Hospital.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust manages East Surrey Hospital in Redhill and provides services at The Earlswood Centre, Caterham Dene Hospital, Crawley Hospital and Horsham Hospital.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust operates Buckland Hospital, Estuary View Medical Centre, Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital and William Harvey Hospital.
The critical incidents reflect the level of NHS escalation deployed when trusts face exceptional pressures that threaten their ability to maintain normal service levels.
