Weekly figure Royal Stoke's worst of year

AMBULANCES lost nearly 2,000 hours waiting to offload patients at the Royal Stoke University Hospital - the worst weekly figure in 2025.

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

The handover delays at the Royal Stoke for the week ending December 5 came as its emergency department was forced to deal with increasing pressure.

University Hospitals of North Midlands, which runs the Royal Stoke, declared a critical incident on December 5 due to the 'extremely high demand' facing the trust. Chief executive Simon Constable gave an update on urgent and emergency care to board members when they met on Tuesday, describing the current situation as 'unacceptable.

Some of the pressure has been due to a surge in flu cases, with 73 inpatients with flu currently at UHNM, including two in critical care. But Dr Constable told the board flu was only part of the picture, with UHNM having the more general problem of too many patients ending up at A&E due to a lack of alternative provision.

And the situation could get even worse this week, with resident doctors due start five days of industrial action on Wednesday.