Critical incidents declared as flu cases swamp A&E

Health secretary ashamed’ as patients wait up to 50 hours

- RACHEL CLUN

Multiple hospitals across England have declared critical incidents amid a soaring number of patients being admitted with flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was “genuinely distressed and ashamed” by the situation faced by patients and staff as the highest alert level was sounded at 11 hospitals due to high demands in emergency departments.

The UK’s chief emergency doctor, Adrian Boyle, told The Independent that the flu outbreak had “severe consequences” for already overwhelmed hospitals, while the NHS’s top doctor, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said the demand showed “no signs of letting up”.

The rising pressure on wards was also having an impact on waiting times, with a patient at one hospital forced to wait 50 hours.

Yesterday, Royal Liverpool University Hospital declared a critical incident, followed by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals, and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, which runs Derriford Hospital.

Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Queen Elizabeth, Solihull, Good Hope and Heartlands hospitals, and NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, which oversees Northampton and Kettering hospitals, also declared the alert level.

A critical incident declared on Friday by NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, which runs Royal Cornwall Hospital, continues.