By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
The public has been warned there are “significant pressures” on NHS services in Nottinghamshire as the whole system is now under a critical incident.
The entire Nottingham and Nottinghamshire NHS system declared the incident on January 3 – meaning healthcare bosses are concerned they cannot provide critical services for patients.
It comes as junior doctors with the British Medical Association (BMA) started a six-day walkout on January 3 in a dispute over pay.
The strike action started at 7am and is due to end on January 9 at 7am.
There are “high numbers” of people arriving at emergency departments at Queen’s Medical Centre, run by Nottingham University Hospitals, and King’s Mill Hospital run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals.
“Our staff are doing everything in their power to care for patients in a safe and timely way, but the high number of people needing care and the reduction in staffing levels mean there are very long waits in our A&E and for admission to our wards”, a statement from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) said.
The ICB organises local healthcare services.
Dr Dave Briggs, Medical Director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “Please only attend the Emergency Department if it is vital, this means a life-threatening illness or injury that cannot be treated elsewhere, this allows us to treat those who need us the most.
“There are things everyone can do to help, and we are asking people to use our services wisely and to think about self-care as an option for some conditions, such as coughs and colds, before automatically going to the NHS for help.
“One way the public can help us is by supporting our NHS teams to get your relatives home from hospital if they are medically fit to leave.”
It asked people only call 999 or attend A&E departments if there is a life-threatening emergency and to call 111 for non-urgent advice.
The local NHS also highlighted that Urgent Treatment Centres treat injuries including sprains, strains, suspected fractures, bites, cuts and scalds.
